Shopee To Expand in the Malaysian Markets

The parent company of Shopee, Singapore-based e-commerce giant Sea, has committed to expanding its investments in Malaysia, creating over 2,000 jobs in the process.

Shopee is Southeast Asia's and Taiwan's largest pan-regional e-commerce platform.

Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Malaysia's Minister of International Trade and Industry, announced the move on Sunday during an official visit to the company's headquarters in Singapore.

He added that Sea's decision to expand its investment footprint in Malaysia reflects the company's confidence in the prospects as well as the operational and policy stability of the country's business landscape.

During the minister's visit, Sea shared its proposed Malaysian expansion plans, which include the establishment of cloud computing services, data hosting and processing, and a new logistics e-commerce warehouse.

According to Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry, the cloud computing project will be housed in a three-story green facility in the Johor town of Kulai (MITI).

It is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2024 and will house 24 data hall suites, mechanical and electrical rooms, office space, as well as storage and parking facilities.

Shopee will also expand its presence in Malaysia with the construction of a new two-story mega warehouse - an integrated hi-tech logistics park equipped with cloud infrastructure spanning 130,000 square metres in Bukit Raja, Klang.

“Their planned foreign direct investment in cloud computing and hi-tech warehousing is set to create more than 2,000 new jobs for our people, which will also help us upskill our human capital while enhancing national productivity and competitiveness in the long run.

“We are also expecting positive spillover effects for our small- and medium-size enterprises, corporates and the surrounding local communities. This includes local sourcing, vendor development and the strengthening of the local industrial ecosystem, particularly in the digital space," said Tengku Zafrul.

Tengku Zafrul's three-day investment mission to Singapore coincides with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's first official visit to the country, which begins on Monday.

He will also meet with the Yondr Group, a global leader in data centres, and INSEACT, a Singapore-based alternative protein company that specialises in producing sustainable insect protein for aquaculture, during his visit.