Digital Global Business Services

Malaysia, Digital GBS Hub of ASEAN

Malaysia, Digital GBS Hub of ASEAN

Digital Global Business Services

Malaysia, Digital GBS Hub of ASEAN

Value Driven Global Business Services: the Malaysian Landscape

A Thriving Industry, Integral to Malaysia’s Digital Economy

7
The GBS industry in Malaysia generated US$4.95 billion in revenue in 2022 - and is expected to grow to US$6.7 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 6.2%. This growth is driven by factors including the increasing adoption of digital technologies, the growing demand for shared services, and the expansion of multinational companies into Malaysia.
Source: PIKOM, The National Tech Association of Malaysia
8
Malaysia's competitiveness in business continuity during the pandemic caused many GBS companies to relocate jobs to Malaysia.
1
Global Services is a priority area in 12th Malaysia Plan in Accelerating the Development of Strategic & High Impact Industries.
2
Global Services (GS), which comprise Principal Hubs, Global Business Services (GBS) and headquarter operations, is the main contributor of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the services sector in Malaysia. It is estimated to reach RM89 billion by 2025.
3
Global Business Services Industry has been an integral sector of Malaysia for the last 20 years, championed by Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) with close collaborations with various stakeholders.
4
Since the early 2000s, Malaysia emerged as a premier location for offshore and nearshore delivery with the right balance of cost, talent and political stability. As GBS is shifting focus from cost arbitrage to value-driven services, enabled by digitalization, Malaysia is doubling down on Digital GBS as a key promoted sector under Malaysia Digital.
5
Malaysia is ranked 3rd globally in the KEARNEY Global Services Location Index 2023.
6
Malaysia is now home to nearly half of all analytics-based services in ASEAN.
Source: SSON
7
The GBS industry in Malaysia generated US$4.95 billion in revenue in 2022 - and is expected to grow to US$6.7 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 6.2%. This growth is driven by factors including the increasing adoption of digital technologies, the growing demand for shared services, and the expansion of multinational companies into Malaysia.
Source: PIKOM, The National Tech Association of Malaysia
8
Malaysia's competitiveness in business continuity during the pandemic caused many GBS companies to relocate jobs to Malaysia.
1
Global Services is a priority area in 12th Malaysia Plan in Accelerating the Development of Strategic & High Impact Industries.
2
Global Services (GS), which comprise Principal Hubs, Global Business Services (GBS) and headquarter operations, is the main contributor of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the services sector in Malaysia. It is estimated to reach RM89 billion by 2025.
3
Global Business Services Industry has been an integral sector of Malaysia for the last 20 years, championed by Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) with close collaborations with various stakeholders.

8
Malaysia's competitiveness in business continuity during the pandemic caused many GBS companies to relocate jobs to Malaysia.
1
Global Services is a priority area in 12th Malaysia Plan in Accelerating the Development of Strategic & High Impact Industries.
2
Global Services (GS), which comprise Principal Hubs, Global Business Services (GBS) and headquarter operations, is the main contributor of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the services sector in Malaysia. It is estimated to reach RM89 billion by 2025.
3
Global Business Services Industry has been an integral sector of Malaysia for the last 20 years, championed by Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) with close collaborations with various stakeholders.
4
Since the early 2000s, Malaysia emerged as a premier location for offshore and nearshore delivery with the right balance of cost, talent and political stability. As GBS is shifting focus from cost arbitrage to value-driven services, enabled by digitalization, Malaysia is doubling down on Digital GBS as a key promoted sector under Malaysia Digital.
5
Malaysia is ranked 3rd globally in the KEARNEY Global Services Location Index 2023.
6
Malaysia is now home to nearly half of all analytics-based services in ASEAN.
Source: SSON
7
The GBS industry in Malaysia generated US$4.95 billion in revenue in 2022 - and is expected to grow to US$6.7 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 6.2%. This growth is driven by factors including the increasing adoption of digital technologies, the growing demand for shared services, and the expansion of multinational companies into Malaysia.
Source: PIKOM, The National Tech Association of Malaysia
8
Malaysia's competitiveness in business continuity during the pandemic caused many GBS companies to relocate jobs to Malaysia.
1
Global Services is a priority area in 12th Malaysia Plan in Accelerating the Development of Strategic & High Impact Industries.

Malaysia, Digital GBS Hub of ASEAN

Malaysia is a strategic destination for high value GBS due to its various strengths.

Talent

Diverse, robust, multilingual, and future-ready talent.
Number of graduates in 2022 was 5.92 million.
70.6% of the 4.87 million employed graduates in Malaysia in 2022 were in the “skilled category”.
48% of the working population in 2022 were below the age of 35.
Introduction of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEI) to address the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) and Digital skillsets.
Various government-led digital talent development programmes (Premier Digital Tech Institutions, Global Online Workforce, #mydigitalmaker).

Talent

Diverse, robust, multilingual, and future-ready talent.
Number of graduates in 2022 was 5.92 million.
70.6% of the 4.87 million employed graduates in Malaysia in 2022 were in the “skilled category”.
48% of the working population in 2022 were below the age of 35.
Introduction of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEI) to address the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) and Digital skillsets.
Various government-led digital talent development programmes (Premier Digital Tech Institutions, Global Online Workforce, #mydigitalmaker).

Public & Private Partnerships

Collaboration seen between industry associations such as GBS Malaysia/PIKOM/Contact Center Association of Malaysia (CCAM) alongside government agencies place Malaysia favorably in the eyes of foreign investors.
Collaboration between Telcos and Malaysian government show a joint effort towards achieving infrastructure and digital economy goals.
Public and private work in tandem for state and industry development in view of a concerted effort in driving digital investments across Malaysia.

Public & Private Partnerships

Collaboration seen between industry associations such as GBS Malaysia/PIKOM/Contact Center Association of Malaysia (CCAM) alongside government agencies place Malaysia favorably in the eyes of foreign investors.
Collaboration between Telcos and Malaysian government show a joint effort towards achieving infrastructure and digital economy goals.
Public and private work in tandem for state and industry development in view of a concerted effort in driving digital investments across Malaysia.

Digital Infrastructure

Introduction of various blueprints, plans and strategy documents to address the growing need as well as maturing of digital infrastructure and ecosystem in the country; MyDIGITAL, Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA), Industry4WRD, Malaysia Digital initiative, Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP).
97.7% of individuals in Malaysia access the internet in 2023; 99.4% utilise a mobile phone; 80.4% own a computer.
Internet penetration rate stood at 97.4% of the total Malaysian population at the start of 2024; 5G coverage rate stood at 80.3% as of February 2024.
eCommerce and digital adoption.

Digital Infrastructure

Introduction of various blueprints, plans and strategy documents to address the growing need as well as maturing of digital infrastructure and ecosystem in the country; MyDIGITAL, Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA), Industry4WRD, Malaysia Digital initiative, Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP).
97.7% of individuals in Malaysia access the internet in 2023; 99.4% utilise a mobile phone; 80.4% own a computer.
Internet penetration rate stood at 97.4% of the total Malaysian population at the start of 2024; 5G coverage rate stood at 80.3% as of February 2024.
eCommerce and digital adoption.

Government Support

Federal and corridor/state level financial incentives offered. Customized incentives are available for strategic and impactful projects for Malaysia.
Support bodies such as Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Talent Corp;
Economic Corridors such as Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB), East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC), Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), Digital Penang and various investment promotion agencies (InvestKL, InvestSelangor, InvestPenang and others).
Facilitation of high impact digital investments to increase the capacity and capabilities of Malaysia’s digital economy via the Digital Investment Office (DIO).

Government Support

Federal and corridor/state level financial incentives offered. Customized incentives are available for strategic and impactful projects for Malaysia.
Support bodies such as Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Talent Corp;
Economic Corridors such as Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB), East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC), Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), Digital Penang and various investment promotion agencies (InvestKL, InvestSelangor, InvestPenang and others).
Facilitation of high impact digital investments to increase the capacity and capabilities of Malaysia’s digital economy via the Digital Investment Office (DIO).

Government Support
- Federal and corridor/state level financial incentives offered. Customized incentives are available for strategic and impactful projects for Malaysia.
- Support bodies such as Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Talent Corp;
- Economic Corridors such as Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB), East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC), Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), Digital Penang and various investment promotion agencies (InvestKL, InvestSelangor, InvestPenang and others).
- Facilitation of high impact digital investments to increase the capacity and capabilities of Malaysia’s digital economy via the Digital Investment Office (DIO).
Government Support
- Federal and corridor/state level financial incentives offered. Customized incentives are available for strategic and impactful projects for Malaysia.
- Support bodies such as Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Talent Corp;
- Economic Corridors such as Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB), East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC), Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), Digital Penang and various investment promotion agencies (InvestKL, InvestSelangor, InvestPenang and others).
- Facilitation of high impact digital investments to increase the capacity and capabilities of Malaysia’s digital economy via the Digital Investment Office (DIO).
Talent
- Diverse, robust, multilingual, and future-ready talent.
- Number of graduates in 2022 was 5.92 million.
- 70.6% of the 4.87 million employed graduates in Malaysia in 2022 were in the “skilled category”.
- 48% of the working population in 2022 were below the age of 35.
- Introduction of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEI) to address the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) and Digital skillsets.
- Various government-led digital talent development programmes (Premier Digital Tech Institutions, Global Online Workforce, #mydigitalmaker).
Talent
- Diverse, robust, multilingual, and future-ready talent.
- Number of graduates in 2022 was 5.92 million.
- 70.6% of the 4.87 million employed graduates in Malaysia in 2022 were in the “skilled category”.
- 48% of the working population in 2022 were below the age of 35.
- Introduction of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEI) to address the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) and Digital skillsets.
- Various government-led digital talent development programmes (Premier Digital Tech Institutions, Global Online Workforce, #mydigitalmaker).
Public & Private Partnerships
- Collaboration seen between industry associations such as GBS Malaysia/PIKOM/Contact Center Association of Malaysia (CCAM) alongside government agencies place Malaysia favorably in the eyes of foreign investors.
- Collaboration between Telcos and Malaysian government show a joint effort towards achieving infrastructure and digital economy goals.
- Public and private work in tandem for state and industry development in view of a concerted effort in driving digital investments across Malaysia.
Public & Private Partnerships
- Collaboration seen between industry associations such as GBS Malaysia/PIKOM/Contact Center Association of Malaysia (CCAM) alongside government agencies place Malaysia favorably in the eyes of foreign investors.
- Collaboration between Telcos and Malaysian government show a joint effort towards achieving infrastructure and digital economy goals.
- Public and private work in tandem for state and industry development in view of a concerted effort in driving digital investments across Malaysia.
Digital Infrastructure
- Introduction of various blueprints, plans and strategy documents to address the growing need as well as maturing of digital infrastructure and ecosystem in the country; MyDIGITAL, Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA), Industry4WRD, Malaysia Digital initiative, Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP).
- 97.7% of individuals in Malaysia access the internet in 2023; 99.4% utilise a mobile phone; 80.4% own a computer.
- Internet penetration rate stood at 97.4% of the total Malaysian population at the start of 2024; 5G coverage rate stood at 80.3% as of February 2024.
- eCommerce and digital adoption.
Digital Infrastructure
- Introduction of various blueprints, plans and strategy documents to address the growing need as well as maturing of digital infrastructure and ecosystem in the country; MyDIGITAL, Jalinan Digital Negara (JENDELA), Industry4WRD, Malaysia Digital initiative, Twelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP).
- 97.7% of individuals in Malaysia access the internet in 2023; 99.4% utilise a mobile phone; 80.4% own a computer.
- Internet penetration rate stood at 97.4% of the total Malaysian population at the start of 2024; 5G coverage rate stood at 80.3% as of February 2024.
- eCommerce and digital adoption.
Government Support
- Federal and corridor/state level financial incentives offered. Customized incentives are available for strategic and impactful projects for Malaysia.
- Support bodies such as Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Talent Corp;
- Economic Corridors such as Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB), East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC), Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), Digital Penang and various investment promotion agencies (InvestKL, InvestSelangor, InvestPenang and others).
- Facilitation of high impact digital investments to increase the capacity and capabilities of Malaysia’s digital economy via the Digital Investment Office (DIO).
Government Support
- Federal and corridor/state level financial incentives offered. Customized incentives are available for strategic and impactful projects for Malaysia.
- Support bodies such as Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Talent Corp;
- Economic Corridors such as Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB), East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC), Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), Digital Penang and various investment promotion agencies (InvestKL, InvestSelangor, InvestPenang and others).
- Facilitation of high impact digital investments to increase the capacity and capabilities of Malaysia’s digital economy via the Digital Investment Office (DIO).
Talent
- Diverse, robust, multilingual, and future-ready talent.
- Number of graduates in 2022 was 5.92 million.
- 70.6% of the 4.87 million employed graduates in Malaysia in 2022 were in the “skilled category”.
- 48% of the working population in 2022 were below the age of 35.
- Introduction of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEI) to address the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) and Digital skillsets.
- Various government-led digital talent development programmes (Premier Digital Tech Institutions, Global Online Workforce, #mydigitalmaker).
Talent
- Diverse, robust, multilingual, and future-ready talent.
- Number of graduates in 2022 was 5.92 million.
- 70.6% of the 4.87 million employed graduates in Malaysia in 2022 were in the “skilled category”.
- 48% of the working population in 2022 were below the age of 35.
- Introduction of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEI) to address the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) and Digital skillsets.
- Various government-led digital talent development programmes (Premier Digital Tech Institutions, Global Online Workforce, #mydigitalmaker).

Malaysia’s Position in Global Rankings

2nd

INSEAD Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2023

(Global ranking in Upper Middle-Income Group)

2nd

IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2023

(Ranking in ASEAN)

2nd

IMD Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2023

(Ranking in ASEAN)

2nd

WIPO Global Innovation Index 2023

(Global ranking in Upper-Middle Income category)

2nd

Digital Quality of Life Index 2023

(Ranking in ASEAN)

3rd

KEARNEY Global Services Location Index 2023

(Global ranking)

Need more information?

What is it like to run a business in Malaysia? How to benefit from the solutions and the efficiency of our business culture? What are the opportunities in specific sectors? Who to partner up with?

Need more information?

What is it like to run a business in Malaysia? How to benefit from the solutions and the efficiency of our business culture? What are the opportunities in specific sectors? Who to partner up with?

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