SHOPEE'S PARENT, SEA LTD TO EXPAND INVESTMENTS, CREATE 2,000 JOBS IN MALAYSIA

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 (Bernama) -- Sea Ltd, a leading Singaporean global consumer internet company and the owner of the e-commerce platform, Shopee, has committed to expanding its investments in Malaysia, creating more than 2,000 jobs in the process.

Shopee is the largest pan-regional e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. 

According to a statement by the Ministry of the International Trade and Industry (MITI), this decision was shared with MITI Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz during his official visit to the company’s headquarters in Singapore today. 

During the visit, Sea Ltd shared its proposed expansion plans in Malaysia, involving the setting up of cloud services, data hosting and processing, as well as a new logistics e-commerce warehouse.  

“Sea Ltd’s cloud computing project will be located in a three-story green facility in Kulai, Johor, with 24 data hall suites, mechanical and electrical rooms, office space, as well as storage and parking facilities, targeted to be completed by the first quarter of 2024," said MITI.

Additionally, Shopee will also expand its footprint in Malaysia with a newly-constructed two-storey mega warehouse -- an integrated hi-tech logistics park equipped with cloud infrastructure, spanning 1.4 million square feet in Bukit Raja, Klang. 

Tengku Zafrul said that Sea Ltd’s decision to expand its investment footprint in Malaysia clearly reflects the company’s confidence in the prospects, as well as the operational and policy stability of the country’s business landscape. 

“Their planned foreign direct investment (FDI) 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 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," he said.

Tengku Zafrul said MITI and its related agencies will continue to enhance the nation’s business ecosystem, ensuring that Malaysia will always be perceived as pro-business, pro-investment and pro-trade.

Meanwhile, Sea Ltd’s co-founder and group chief operating officer, Gang Ye said the decision was a significant development not just for the group, but also for the local digital ecosystem.

“We are grateful for the MITI Minister’s and his team’s support for our expansion plans and business strategies,” he said.

The minister’s three-day investment mission to Singapore is in conjunction with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s first official visit to Singapore on Jan 30. 

During the investment mission, Tengku Zafrul will also have one-on-one business meetings with the Yondr Group, a global leader in data centres and INSEACT, a Singapore-based alternative protein company which specialises in producing sustainable insect protein for aquaculture (shrimp farming).  

-- BERNAMA