KUALA LUMPUR: Google will invest $2 billion in Malaysia to house the firm’s first data center in the country, the government said Thursday, making it the latest tech titan to pump cash into the region in search of growth opportunities.
The government said the cash would support 26,500 jobs across various sectors in Malaysia, including health care, education, and finance, and comes days after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim targeted at least $107 billion in investments for the semiconductor industry.
Anwar said in April that he planned to build Southeast Asia’s largest integrated circuit design park, while offering incentives including tax breaks and subsidies to attract global tech companies and investors.
Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Google and its parent firm Alphabet, said: “Google’s first data center and Google Cloud region is our largest planned investment so far in Malaysia — a place Google has been proud to call home for 13 years.
“This investment builds on our partnership with the Malaysian government to advance its ‘Cloud First Policy’, including best-in-class cybersecurity standards.”
Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the cash “will significantly advance” Malaysia’s digital ambitions outlined in a 2030 masterplan.
He added that the data center and cloud region “will empower our manufacturing and service-based industries to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and other advanced technologies to move up the global value chain.”
Earlier this month Microsoft said it would spend $2.2 billion on AI and cloud computing in Malaysia, with boss Satya Nadella pledging to invest billions in Thailand and Indonesia during a tour of the region.
And Amazon said it would spend $9 billion in Singapore over the next four years to expand its cloud computing capabilities in the city.
The facility announced on Thursday will be located at a business park west of the capital Kuala Lumpur and will power Google’s popular digital services such as Search, Maps, and Workspace.
“When operational, Malaysia will join the 11 countries where Google has built and currently operates data centers to serve users around the world,” the statement said.
The Google Cloud region “will deliver high-performance and low-latency cloud infrastructure, analytics, and AI services to large enterprises, startups, and public sector organizations,” it added.
A key player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch.
Research by global consulting firm Kearney showed AI was poised to contribute $1 trillion to Southeast Asia’s gross domestic product by 2030, with Malaysia predicted to see more than a tenth of that.
“Now that many of these American tech giants are diversifying their investment risks away from China, Malaysia with its traditional involvement in high-tech industry is in a good position to welcome the relocation of their operations,” said Oh Ei Sun, an analyst with the Pacific Research Center of Malaysia.

DUBAI: MBC Group has announced the launch of Egyptian TV series “Moftaraq Toroq,” an Arabic-language adaptation of the legal drama “The Good Wife.”

Licensed by Paramount Global Content Distribution and produced by Charisma Group, the show is set to premiere on MBC’s streaming platform Shahid on Sunday.

Written by Sherif Badreddine and Wael Hamdy and directed by Ahmad Khaled Moussa and Mohamad Yehya, the drama stars Hend Sabri, Eyad Nassar, Majed Al-Masri, Joumana Murad and Noha Abdeen.

It aims to “set a new standard for Egyptian long-form series” and “marks a significant milestone in the evolution of Arab television,” said Tareq Al-Ibrahim, director of MBC1, MBC Drama and SVOD content at MBC.

“Moftaraq Toroq” tells the story of Amira, a wife and mother whose life takes a sudden turn when her husband gets caught up in a public scandal.

“In the landscape of Egyptian TV series, ‘Moftaraq Toroq’ stands as a departure from the conventional,” said Aiman Al-Ziyoud, CEO and president of Charisma Group.

“While audiences may be familiar with the trials of soapy series, mainly Turkish adaptations to Arabic, ‘Moftaraq Toroq’ introduces a novel genre altogether.”

MBC said the show had been adapted to reflect cultural nuances.

“It is incredible to see how the storyline and these characters in the adaptation have been transformed to fit into the local landscape and culture so effortlessly,” said Roxanne Pompa, vice president of international formats at Paramount Global Content Distribution.

“The Good Wife” is produced by CBS Studios in association with Scott Free Productions and King Size Productions. Charisma Group acquired the format rights for the adaptation from Paramount Global Content Distribution.