Alibaba Group to continue investment in Malaysia amidst review of China-related projects

Alibaba Group said it will be investing "a lot" in Malaysia, with its Malaysia chief representative James Song saying the group is "very positive" about Malaysia-China bilateral relations and is "very confident" in Malaysia's future.This comes as Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he will review China-related projects, such as the China-backed rail and gas pipeline projects in Malaysia which according to multiple media reports is worth more than US$22 billion. According to Bernama, the review has not hesitated in its plans to continue to "invigorate" investments in Malaysia.Song said that the company has full confidence in its project in Malaysia and has never changed its commitment to Malaysians. While many companies are concerned about Malaysia-China bilateral ties, Song said Alibaba believes "there are no negative signs" between both countries.Alibaba recently opened its country office in Malaysia to bolster the technology capabilities of Malaysian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and young entrepreneurs. It also launched "Malaysia Week" a special online promotion initiative that seeks to attract Chinese consumers to buy all things Malaysian, showcasing more than 50 Malaysian brands.Earlier this year, Alibaba’s cloud computing arm, Alibaba Cloud, tied up with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur to unveil the Malaysia City Brain initiative. Being adopted overseas for the first time, the City Brain solution is developed on Alibaba Cloud’s cloud computing infrastructure, supporting Malaysia’s digital transformation with cloud technology and artificial intelligence (AI).Last year, Alibaba signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the MDEC and the Hangzhou Municipal Government to connect the first e-hubs in the two countries under the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP). Under the MoU, the parties will join forces to explore linkages between the China (Hangzhou) Cross-Border E-Commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone – which Alibaba helped establish – and the DFTZ in Malaysia.Read also:1,500 SMEs in Malaysia to be selected for listing on Alibaba.comMalaysia Budget 2018: Why SMEs cannot afford to be left behindCatcha group to further investments to ‘transform the Klang Valley’Sabah approves extra RM1m grant to boost digital economyMITI aims to bring 10,000 companies on board DFTZ e-commerce platform