CYBERJAYA: Malaysia’s digital economy has reached a significant milestone as the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) secured RM87.4 billion in approved digital investments for 2025.
This performance, driven by a surge in artificial intelligence (AI), data centres, and cloud services, signals the nation’s decisive shift towards becoming a global AI powerhouse.
Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said these results validate the country’s deliberate national strategy, which is designed to benefit businesses, the public, and the broader economy.
“All the policies that we have put in place are clearly delivering results,” said Gobind.
“These achievements validate the strength of our national digital blueprint in attracting high-value investments. By strengthening digital infrastructure, developing future-ready talent, and fostering innovation, Malaysia is accelerating its progress towards becoming an AI Nation by 2030.”
Gobind added that the influx of capital will deliver tangible benefits for Malaysians through superior job opportunities, enhanced digital capabilities, and increased economic resilience.
Echoing this sentiment, MDEC chief executive officer Anuar Fariz Fadzil noted that the figures reflect a maturing digital landscape that is moving up the global value chain.
“The numbers indicate that foundational sectors are stabilising and laying the groundwork for the next phase of expansion, particularly in applied and agentic AI,” Anuar said.
“MDEC’s focus is to ensure that every ringgit of investment is matched with real capability building for Malaysians, as reflected in the creation of more than 12,600 new AI-related roles this year.”
Anuar further highlighted the ‘Made by Malaysia’ vision, which aims to transition the country from a technology adopter to a creator.
Under the 13th Malaysia Plan, MDEC is prioritising the development of local talent capable of building and shaping AI technologies for the global market.
Key investment highlights
MDEC, in a statement yesterday, said the RM87.4 billion in investments from over 600 Malaysia Digital (MD) status companies contributed significantly to the RM152.9 billion total reported by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) for the information and communication sub-sector.
- Domestic vs foreign investment: Domestic investors led the charge with RM36.66 billion, followed by foreign contributions from Singapore (RM32.16 billion), the United States (RM11.43 billion), and China (RM3.80 billion).
- Job creation: The investments are expected to generate over 31,000 high-value jobs.
- Sector breakdown: AI leads job creation (12,600+ roles), followed by Global Business Services (~9,000), Data Centres/Cloud (~2,600), Creative Media Tech (~1,400), and IoT (~1,100).
As MDEC celebrates its 30th anniversary, the agency remains focused on executing national policy to ensure investments translate into a competitive and resilient digital economy.
