Over three million Malaysian professionals connected on LinkedIn

• Member base doubled within two years to 100 million in the APAC region now
• Students from local public universities are top users of the platform

 

LINKEDIN celebrated three million connected professionals in Malaysia as of Aug 10. This milestone comes as the Asia Pacific region (APAC) crosses the 100-million member mark, doubling its member base within two years.
 
With 37 million members, India retains its spot as the second largest market in member base terms, after the US, and the largest market in APAC. China currently accounts for more than 23 million members, while Australia has eight million members.

Besides Malaysia, the member base across other Southeast Asian countries continues to rise, hitting 18 million including six million in Indonesia, four million in the Philippines, and one million in Singapore.
 
LinkedIn Asia Pacific and Japan managing director Olivier Legrand (pic right) feels that the rapid increase in members reflects a growing understanding of the economic value of personal branding and a global professional network.
 
To enhance the experiences of its member base in the region, including speed and reliability of access to the platform, LinkedIn unveiled its RM240 million data centre in Singapore in April 2016, its first outside of the US.
 
Legrand added, “With 40% or 280 million of the world’s professionals living and working in Asia Pacific, there’s still plenty of runway for us to grow. With students from local public universities being top users of the platform, there is a lot of opportunities for us to grow as students and young professionals make up the fastest-growing demographic on LinkedIn.”
 
Insights into LinkedIn members in Malaysia
 
●     Well-connected regionally and globally: Members in Malaysia open doors to new opportunities by staying connected to members across the region like Singapore, India, Indonesia and China. The US and UK also sit within the Top 5 countries that professionals in Malaysia are connected to.
 
●     “Social Selling”: Malaysian professionals are using LinkedIn to grow their business and career. Even across other markets like Australia, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore, salespersons emerged as the most common occupation on LinkedIn, followed by business owners. Professionals avoid “cold-calling” and leverage social connections to initiate “warm introductions”, build relationships with prospects and customers to grow their businesses.
 
●     Diverse set of skills: Professionals in Malaysia on LinkedIn have a diverse set of skills that make it easier for recruiters and employers to source for candidates. Among the top 10 skills possessed by Malaysian professionals include “strategy and strategic planning”, “graphical design” and “mechanical & aerospace engineering”.

Prominent thought leaders who are also on the platform as LinkedIn Influencers, include Tony Fernandes (Group CEO, AirAsia), Piyush Gupta (Group CEO, DBS Bank), Hiroshi Mikitani (CEO, Rakuten Inc.), Andrew Penn (CEO, Telstra), Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (chairman &  managing director, Biocon) and Narendra Modi (Prime Minister of India).

Related Stories:
 
LinkedIn crosses two million members in Malaysia
 
Malaysians prize workplace relationships: LinkedIn survey
 
LinkedIn offers peek into Malaysian user behavious, talent trends
 
Professionals in Singapore, Indonesia the most vocal at work: LinkedIn
 
  
For more technology news and the latest updates, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Like us on Facebook.