Malaysia and UK chart new grounds in digital economy
MDEC and the UK's Department for International Trade are set to welcome the largest tech delegation from the UK ever to visit Malaysia.
Secretary General to the Treasury, YBhg. Tan Sri Dr. Mohd Irwan Serigar bin Abdullah with British High Commissioner to Malaysia, Her Excellency Vicki Treadell CMG MVO
Malaysia and the UK have achieved significant milestones since the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen the digital partnership between both countries a year ago. The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT), together with the Small and Medium Enterprises Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp), are set to welcome the largest tech delegation from the UK ever to visit Malaysia.
DIT, in partnership with Malaysia’s Global Entrepreneurship Movement (GEM), held a soft launch for the UK Mega Tech mission today at innovative co-working space, Common Ground in Damansara Heights. The launch was officiated by Secretary General to the Treasury, Patron and Founder of GEM, YBhg. Tan Sri Dr. Mohd Irwan Serigar bin Abdullah jointly with British High Commissioner to Malaysia, Her Excellency Vicki Treadell CMG MVO.
The Mega Tech Mission, which will consist of a delegation of up to 50 British tech companies, will be in Malaysia from 9 to 11 October 2017 in search of opportunities to connect, collaborate and innovate with potential Malaysian business partners. The two-day, invite-only gathering is designed to bring together techpreneurs, start/scale-ups and established businesses with a focus on:
- fintech
- big data analytics
- smart cities
- e-commerce
- internet of things
- cloud and data storage
- cyber security
Delegates can expect pitching sessions, panel discussions, business matching opportunities and a networking reception to conclude events.
The mission will mark the latest milestone for Malaysia-UK collaboration in the tech sector since the signing of an MOU between MDEC and the UK’s DIT a year ago. Her Excellency Vicki Treadell is delighted by progress made thus far, saying:
Tech partnerships between Malaysia and the UK are delivering results. In the last year, we have seen MDEC sign three MOUs in the areas of cyber security and smart cities as well as MDEC participation in London Technology Week for two consecutive years. Furthermore, MDEC reports that Direct Investment from the UK to Malaysia for the tech sector stands at RM269.9 million with the UK’s DIT recording RM40 million of tech exports into Malaysia.
We now have the largest UK tech mission ever to visit Malaysia. We want to keep the momentum going, with Malaysia as our partner of choice in the technology sector.
Tan Sri Dr. Mohd Irwan Serigar bin Abdullah, said:
In keeping with the fourth industrial revolution, Malaysian businesses are ready with bigger appetites to cater to a global market. With UK’s technology sector being at the forefront of many hi-tech developments, it makes for great synergy when Malaysian companies actively connect and expand their businesses to collaborate to directly benefit from the cross-overs of talent and innovations.
On the other hand, for the UK tech companies, we welcome you to look at Malaysia as the most strategic base in Asia given our commitment to position digital economy as a key to Malaysia’s transformation towards TN50. We have since launched the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) as well as the Malaysia Digital Hub providing conducive and inclusive regulations, policies and facilities.
Malaysian techpreneurs, start/scale-ups and established businesses who are looking to collaborate and innovate with UK partners will be able to sign up for the Mega Tech Mission 2017 in September via the UK award-winning B2B platform, Inspired Mobile.