MDEC to strengthen digitalisation efforts in line with M'sia GDP performance

• MDEC to continue active role in boosting country’s competitiveness
• Some 489,000 MSMEs adopted e-commerce by close of 2020

THE Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has welcomed the Ministry of Finance’s (MOF) 2021 first quarter GDP report, which saw a better performance than previous quarters with key economic indicators showing improvement.

In a statement, the agency reiterates its commitment to strengthen its working relationship with various ministries and agencies, especially in the digital economy sector, which has shown strong growth in this new norm.

“MDEC welcomes the results of the first quarter GDP report and it will provide guidance in driving the country's economic recovery.

“In this regard, MDEC will continue to provide the necessary support to local companies and startups that have the potential to emerge as 'unicorn' companies to further expand into the global market,” said Surina Shukri, chief executive officer of MDEC (pic).

“Our efforts are in line with the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDigital) and to firmly establish Malaysia as the 'heart of digital' Asean.”

MDEC said it will continue to play an active role in boosting the country's competitiveness by enhancing digitalisation initiatives and digital skills of the workforce in line with the government's five key focus areas to drive the nation's recovery.

This is being implemented through various initiatives to drive digital adoption for micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as to improve the digital skills of the people through public-private partnership programs, it said.

These include Premier Digital Technology Institution (PDTI), Industrial Skills Framework (IndSF), Digital Skills Training Directory for working professionals and a data technology collaboration program with technology giants.

The programmes were introduced to accelerate development of digital talents as part of MDEC's efforts to push Malaysia to make the digital leap into the era of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0), MDEC said.

The National Council of Digital Economy and 4IR (MED4IR) chaired by the Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin recently endorsed the formation of the National eCommerce Strategic Roadmap (NESR) 2.0 Taskforce, following the achievements of NESR 1.0.

MDEC has been entrusted to lead the Project Management Office of the NESR 2.0 Taskforce with the mandate to oversee the successful implementation of NESR 2.0.

A total of 639 organisations and individuals were engaged as part of MDEC’s primary market research work in the development of NESR 2.0, which was carried out in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, MDEC said.

This included 196 companies, 18 industry associations, 40 government ministries and agencies.

NESR 2.0 will be guided by three overaching objectives: To intensify e-commerce adoption and growth, to enhance ecosystem development, and to strengthen policy and regulatory environment, MDEC said.

Top investment destination

Meanwhile, according to MDEC, Malaysia remains one of the top investment destinations in the region, receiving foreign direct investments (FDI) worth US$19.8 billion (RM81.9 billion) in high quality investments involving technology, innovation, green technology and financial technology sectors.

[RM1 = US$0.243]

These inflows, MDEC noted, have enabled more employment opportunities for the local skilled workforce, in line with Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 (SPV 2030) as outlined by the government.

MDEC has also announced a collaboration with Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) to facilitate investment efforts related to the digital sector through the establishment of the Digital Investment Office (DIO), a fully-digital collaborative platform to coordinate and facilitate all digital investments.

The objective of this endeavour is to not only create awareness on digital investments in the country but to also strengthen the coordination among all Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) in promoting and attracting new investments in our nation’s digital economy, MDEC said.

The first quarter GDP report presented by the minister of finance Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, saw the online retail sales index register a growth of 18.3% year-on-year.

At the end of 2020, 489,000 micro SMEs adopted e-commerce while 378,000 SME were trained to utilise the e-commerce platform.

Companies using e-commerce for export grew exponentially from 1,800 to 27,000. The sector also attracted investment worth RM1.5 billion for the establishment of regional e-fulfilment hubs, MDEC claimed

“This will further give confidence and drive the growth and development of the digital economy, fuelling our efforts to create an innovative, inclusive and technology-integrated society in line with Malaysia 5.0,” said Rais Hussin, chairman of MDEC.