‘Malaysia can invest in data centers in Vietnam’

On the afternoon of January 15, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung had a meeting with Mr. Gobind Singh Deo, Digital Minister of Malaysia, on the sidelines of the 6th ASEAN Digital Ministers Meeting (ADGMIN) in Hanoi. Malaysia’s investment in a data center in Vietnam comes in the context of increasingly expanding digital cooperation between the two countries.

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said that during recent high-level visits, many Malaysian investors have expressed interest in the data center market in Vietnam. “Vietnam wants Malaysia to invest in data centers in Vietnam,” he expressed his opinion.

Sharing with his counterpart, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said that Vietnam’s newly amended Telecommunications Law has many open regulations, allowing investment in data centers with 100% foreign capital. Vietnam is also considering adjusting data-related regulations to be more flexible for data centers serving the international market. This creates favorable conditions for international investors, including Malaysia.

From the Malaysian side, Minister Gobind Singh Deo highly appreciated Vietnam’s recent rapid developments, especially in infrastructure and digital transformation. He said that digital cooperation is the area with the most room in relations between ASEAN countries, because despite different levels of development and infrastructure, countries can support each other to take advantage of opportunities from new technology.

According to Malaysia’s Digital Minister, the country has stepped up investment in data centers and initially the projects are operating effectively. Data centers are identified by Malaysia as an inevitable trend of the future, associated with the development of the digital economy and AI. On that basis, Malaysia wants to expand the data center ecosystem to all ASEAN member countries.

At the meeting, the two Ministers also agreed to build programs to connect businesses between Vietnam and Malaysia. Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said that Vietnam has a large and dynamic force of digital technology businesses with strengths in information technology. These businesses want to expand investment, provide services and develop products in Malaysia. He expected Malaysia to create favorable conditions for Vietnamese digital technology businesses to enter the market.

Malaysian Minister Gobind Singh Deo hopes to have an exchange of delegations between the two sides to connect business and share policy changes, such as promoting investment in data centers in Vietnam.

Sharing about issues of mutual concern between the two countries, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said that Vietnam focuses on using AI to solve economic and social problems. He said that if ASEAN does not have its own approach to AI, it will be difficult for countries in the region to take advantage of the advantages that AI brings. Therefore, the Minister proposed that the two countries establish a working group to discuss and find the right approach to AI, in order to build an AI development philosophy for each country.