China’s Wind Information keen to set up regional HQ in Malaysia — Teo
03 Jul 2023
Chinese financial software services company, Wind Information Co Ltd, has expressed interest in setting up its regional headquarters in Malaysia, says Deputy Communications and Digital Minister Teo Nie Ching.
Teo said that Wind Information would be able to provide financial information services similar to Bloomberg outside China after it established itself in Malaysia.
“The company thinks that as they operate in China, people will see them as a company from China.
“So they hope that by setting up a regional headquarters in Malaysia, Wind Information will be able to be seen as an (international) company that provides services similar to Bloomberg to the Asean or Asia region,” she told Bernama on the sidelines of a networking session with investors and Malaysians in Shanghai recently.
Teo was in Shanghai from June 27 to 30 to attend a three-day Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai 2023 that began on June 28, where she delivered a keynote address titled “Technology Driving Change” on June 29.
During her four-day visit, the deputy minister said she had visited several Chinese telecommunication companies (telcos) pavilions and had met several Chinese telcos C-suite level officers, including those from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.
Asked about the investments that Wind Information is expected to bring in for Malaysia, Teo said that while the figures were not disclosed, the company’s presence would definitely create high-skilled job opportunities such as data analysis and software engineering for Malaysians.
She said the competitive operating cost in Malaysia, along with the multilingual and high-skilled talents available in the country, are among the reasons for Wind Information to choose Malaysia over other neighbouring countries.
Teo said that Wind Information is currently applying for Malaysia Digital (MD) status, which is expected to be approved around mid-July this year.
The MD initiative was launched on July 4, 2022, whereby eligible companies will be offered a set of incentives, rights and privileges from the government to participate in and undertake any of MD’s activities.
Developing data centres in Malaysia
Apart from Wind Information, Teo also visited China’s leading data centre service provider, Shanghai DC-Science Co Ltd, and GDS Holdings Ltd, a leading developer and operator of high-performance data centres.
On Shanghai DC-Science, which has partnered with local company MN Holdings Bhd to develop its first high-performance data centre with an estimated value of over US$600 million (US$1=RM4.66) in Malaysia, Teo said the Chinese company is expected to sign a sale and purchase agreement and begin the construction of the data centre this month.
“They hope that the data centre could start operations in the second quarter of 2024,” she said.
Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between DC-Science and MN Holdings’ wholly-owned unit Mutu Nusantara Sdn Bhd on April 1, 2023, in conjunction with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s maiden visit to China, the two companies will jointly develop a high-performance data centre spanning 8.09 hectares at Sedenak Tech Park, Johor.
Meanwhile, Teo said GDS Holdings, which has invested RM1.38 billion in 2022 for the development of its first “hyperscale” data centre campus at Nusajaya Tech Park, Iskandar Puteri, is anticipated to begin the operation of its data centre in Malaysia in early this month.
“They also plan to invest more and develop more data centres in Malaysia to ensure that Malaysia will be able to become an important data hub,” she said, adding that the company would continue collaborating with local universities to cultivate more talents and create more job opportunities in the country.
Source: Bernama
