KUALA LUMPUR – Sea Limited, Singapore’s largest consumer Internet company, has committed to expanding its investments in Malaysia, creating more than 2,000 jobs in the process.
This was announced by Malaysia’s Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz during his official visit to Shopee’s headquarters in Singapore on Sunday. The e-commerce platform is owned by Sea.
Datuk Seri Zafrul’s three-day investment mission to Singapore is in conjunction with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s first official visit to the country on Monday.
Malaysia’s The Star newspaper reported on Monday that Sea’s expansion plans involve the setting up of cloud services, data hosting and processing, and a new logistics warehouse for Shopee.
The cloud computing project will be located in a three-storey green facility in Kulai, Johor, with 24 data hall suites, and is targeted for completion in the first quarter of 2024, the report said.
Meanwhile, Shopee will expand its footprint in Malaysia through a newly constructed mega warehouse located in Bukit Raja, Klang. The 1.4 million sq ft, two-storey high-tech warehouse is equipped with cloud infrastructure.
Both projects are expected to create more than 2,000 direct job opportunities, the newspaper quoted Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry as saying.
The ministry also said that Singapore is the second-largest investor in Malaysia’s manufacturing sector, with a total of 3,475 projects in operation and investments amounting to RM96.36 billion (S$29.8 billion), The Star reported.
Sea’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, Bernama reported.
With rising competition, investor scepticism and slowing growth after a pandemic-era high, the tech giant has been scaling back its overseas footprint and peripheral businesses.
In January, Sea’s Shopee pulled out of Poland, completing its full retreat from Europe.
Sea last month froze salaries for most staff and paid out lower bonuses, following deep job cuts earlier in 2022.
