Malaysia will reassess its criteria for data center approval, shifting from prioritizing the size of capital commitments to contributions to the long-term economic benefits to the country, Treasury secretary general Tan Sri Johan Mahmood Merican reportedly said yesterday.
“I think in recent experience, we perhaps overdid the red carpet for data centres to the extent that now we are almost getting too much of a demand. I think in the past, we have been a bit overly simplistic, broad-based, offering incentives, and sometimes it was just a pursuit of large capital investments,” he said during a fireside chat held in conjunction with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC).
The review would include electricity pricing where Johan noted that Malaysia’s energy tariffs may need to better reflect the value of its resources while remaining competitive in attracting investments. The government would also evaluate whether the projects create higher value-added jobs and whether the spillover would significantly benefit local industries.
He added that a standard data centre may not necessarily create a lot of jobs or generate strong spillover benefits for local businesses.
Malaysia continues to attract strong interest from global technology companies seeking to establish digital infrastructure footprint in Southeast Asia.