MDEC, Huawei Sign MoU to spearhead Malaysia as ASEAN Digital Hub

• Partnership will see sharing of best practices and knowledge-sharing
• Huawei picks KL as Asia-Pac regional HQ due to Malaysia’s stature

On 30 July, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Huawei) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to spearhead the initiative to drive Malaysia’s position as the heart of Digital ASEAN. This collaboration will kickstart with a whitepaper developed by both parties on identifying and developing key elements to realise the aspiration of Malaysia being the regional digital hub.

The MoU aims to develop a robust digital economy including information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, applied innovative technologies (5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT) and digital tech talent.

The partnership will see the sharing of best practices and knowledge-sharing between both parties, with Huawei taking the lead in providing technical and business advisory strategies and support.

MDEC and Huawei will continue to conduct joint research and services related to digital technologies by working with various government bodies to publish white paper studies for the benefit of improving Malaysia’s digital economy.

Surina Shukri, MDEC’s Chief Executive Officer said as the country recovers from the recent COVID-19 pandemic, MDEC is pleased to be working with industry captains such as Huawei to help accelerate MDEC’s continuous effort in promoting Malaysia’s aspiration in becoming the heart of Digital ASEAN.

“From our partnership with Huawei, we aim to gain insights and knowledge in addressing the pain points and challenges faced by the digital ecosystem in Malaysia. We aim to be prepared with solutions to enable and facilitate the capacity building to realise the full potential of Malaysia’s digital economy through digital adoption and digital talent development,” Surina said.

According to Huawei, for sustainable growth across all industries, talent development is one of the key areas to focus which will be included in the digital hub framework to emphasise the importance of nurturing digital skilled minded talent and foster a new wave of a digital workforce in the future.

“Huawei is grateful to be part of Malaysia’s nation-building efforts and to work with MDEC on various programmes. We have been here for 19 years and our continued focus will be on developing and nurturing more digital talent to create sustainable economic growth across all industries especially through our Huawei ASEAN Academy,” said Michael Yuan, CEO of Huawei Malaysia.

Part of the MoU will include both parties leveraging the strategic partnership built through MDEC’s Global Acceleration & Innovation Network (GAIN) and Huawei’s Sparks Accelerator programme initiatives. The collaboration aims to create and sustain a vibrant digital ecosystem by strengthening the partnerships between MDEC and Huawei’s network of partners and ecosystems.

The partnership will allow both parties to nurture and explore MDEC’s enterprises of all sizes including multinationals involved in high tech and/or digital activities that have the potential to become global players in the future. Huawei has also been appointed as a Technology Partner under the MDEC’s Data Technology Partnership Program to further accelerate data-driven enterprises and develop digital talent.

Huawei has chosen Malaysia as their Asia Pacific regional headquarters due to Malaysia’s growing stature in the ASEAN digital economy. This collaboration further cements Huawei’s confidence and investment in Malaysia.