Malaysia has announced plans to build an integrated circuit design park among other incentives to attract global tech investments.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the country would develop Southeast Asia's largest design park in the central state of Selangor, in collaboration with the Selangor government and Selangor Information Technology and Digital Economy Corporation (SIDEC).
He added that the initiative is part of Malaysia's efforts to move beyond backend chip assembly and testing into high-value front-end design work.
Malaysia aims to turn Kuala Lumpur into a regional digital hub, with goals to become one among the top 20 countries in the startup ecosystem index by 2030.
It is also a major player in the semiconductor industry, accounting for about 13 percent of global testing and packaging.
The Prime Minister said the park will anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as British chipmaker Arm Holdings.
He also announced that sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd would launch a funding initiative, with an initial allocation of US$209 million (S$284 million) to support Malaysian start-ups.
The Prime Minister said twelve international venture capital firms “with assets under management sizes above billions and illustrious track records” will be setting up offices in Kuala Lumpur.
This would help set up and nurture Malaysian start-ups to become globally successful, he added.
“High-tech companies are also expected to set up their operations, research and development facilities and regional headquarters to serve the Asian and South Asian market," Anwar said.
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said the government will offer incentives to foreign venture capital firms, tech entrepreneurs and unicorns looking to invest in Malaysia including subsidised office spaces, exemptions on employment passes, relocation services and lower corporate tax rates.
"We want to attract global unicorns to enter Malaysia, so that high-skilled and high-value jobs are created, besides developing a pipeline of future entrepreneurs and senior leaders in tech," he added.
