SoftBank Plans $50 Billion Investment in Malaysia, Doubling Down on AI and Data Centers

Cailian Press Financial News Agency

Open APP

SoftBank plans to invest $50 billion in Malaysia, continuing to ramp up AI infrastructure

Cailian Press, Niu Zhanlin; Editor: Sun Fang, 2026-10-26 19:15

① SoftBank Group plans to invest $50 billion in Malaysia, focusing on artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and data centers; ② Malaysia is striving to become an "AI nation" by 2030, and earlier this year the government launched a national AI action plan.

Cailian Press, October 26 (Editor: Niu Zhanlin) According to media reports, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently said that SoftBank Group plans to invest $50 billion in Malaysia, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), emerging technologies and data centers.

Anwar said he recently held a video conference with SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son. During the meeting, Son disclosed that parts of Malaysia have been selected as investment locations for the relevant projects, including Kuching, the capital of Sarawak state, and the Malay Peninsula region.

Anwar said the investment in Malaysia will create more and better job opportunities, especially benefiting young workers. He also noted that whether Malaysia can continue to attract investment depends on investors' confidence in the government and the stability of the domestic political situation. He used this to emphasize Malaysia's advantages compared with other countries in the region.

Earlier this month, SoftBank signed a framework agreement with Singapore-headquartered Grab and Malaysia's Sarawak Petroleum to explore cooperation opportunities in developing AI and digital infrastructure in Sarawak, covering areas such as AI computing services and advanced technologies.

It is reported that SoftBank is currently involved in a data center-centered project in the U.S. state of Ohio with an investment scale of $500 billion, one of the largest projects of its kind in the world. In addition, SoftBank is advancing a large project in France with an investment scale of up to 75 billion euros (about $84 billion).

SoftBank is not the only company increasing its bet on technology infrastructure in Malaysia. Google announced in 2024 that it would invest $2 billion to build its first data center and cloud service region in the country. Amazon said it plans to invest a cumulative $6.2 billion by 2038; Microsoft announced an investment of $2.2 billion for cloud computing, AI infrastructure construction and other digital projects.

Data from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority show that from 2021 to the first half of 2026, the country's total data center-related investment reached 385.7 billion ringgit, about $94 billion.

Now, the Malaysian government is seeking to gain more economic benefits from the data center investment boom. On the one hand, the government is pushing data center operators to use more local suppliers; on the other hand, it hopes to use this infrastructure to promote the spread of AI technology, local innovation and development, and create more jobs requiring higher skills.

Global Market Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence

Cailian Press statement: The content of this article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. Investors who act on it do so at their own risk.

Business cooperation

Popular unlocks

[Trend Research Report · Insight] Electricity prices in Guangdong and Jiangsu rose sharply in October, the fourth-quarter annual long-term contract signing cycle is approaching, and next year's annual long-term contract electricity prices are expected to stabilize and rebound. Improved electricity price expectations are expected to directly amplify the profit elasticity of power generation companies; an imperfect bottom

① An imperfect bottom; ② Electricity prices in Guangdong and Jiangsu rose sharply in October, the fourth-quarter annual long-term contract signing cycle is approaching, and next year's annual long-term contract electricity prices are expected to stabilize and rebound. Improved electricity price expectations are expected to directly amplify the profit elasticity of power generation companies; ③ Today, institutions across the market published a total of 332 research reports, Jianghai Co. had its rating upgraded, and 10 companies received first-time coverage; ④ In the ranking of institutional attention to individual stocks, Runben Co. appeared on the list for the first time, with the top five in order: CATL > Biem.L.Fdlkk > Qiaqia Food > China Jushi > Runben Co.

[Sniper Dragon-Tiger List] Strong profit-taking weighs on the index as technology drags; robots may see their first major divergence tomorrow

① The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has made clear that the second batch of L3 autonomous driving access pilots is being advanced, and autonomous driving is about to enter the stage of commercial promotion. The company's fundraising project clearly points to an integrated smart transportation solution for "vehicle-road-cloud" coordination; ② Competition in physical AI is shifting from "algorithm parameters" to "scenario data." The company continues to produce high-quality real interaction data in three major scenarios—industrial, commercial and home kitchen—and has formed a flywheel effect; ③ A national-level fund has entered the unmanned delivery track for the first time, and the development focus of the unmanned delivery industry is shifting from "pilot validation" to "large-scale implementation."

[Cailian Press Early Know] AgiBot releases the safety-standard heavy-load embodied robot Genie G2 Max; institutions say humanoid robot development has entered a new stage. This company, as part of the "A chain" of AgiBot's supply chain, provides multi-link support for R&D

① AgiBot releases the safety-standard heavy-load embodied robot Genie G2 Max; institutions say humanoid robot development has entered a new stage. This company, as part of the "A chain" of AgiBot's supply chain, provides multi-link support for R&D, from EDA design, PCB and PCBA delivery to intelligent manufacturing of mechanical parts; ② Bank of America says Microsoft's enterprise-level AI advantages have been further consolidated; institutions say AI applications are expected to enter a stage of accelerated product innovation and commercialization. This company is mainly engaged in digital and intelligent solutions driven by artificial intelligence technology; ③ This company has officially merged into the RLinf official mainline and successfully completed full-process verification at the thousand-card scale.

Related reading

U.S. stock index futures collectively recover; SK Hynix reportedly to launch massive shareholder returns | Tonight's highlights

Cailian Press, Shi Zhengcheng, 2026-10-26 20:56

① The Brazilian election results are out, and the U.S.-listed Brazil ETF fell 27%; ② Senior officials from the three countries of the Mecca Agreement visited Iran, and oil prices fell; ③ SK Hynix reportedly will increase shareholder returns by up to 60 trillion won; ④ Musk and Citadel Investment take turns pressuring AI financing.

Cailian Press, Shi Zhengcheng, 2026-10-26 18:55

① Three months after vowing to challenge Nolan, Musk's Grok Imagine released an approximately 7-minute AI version of "The Odyssey," but the first batch of finished products did not win outside acclaim; ② Although some scenes have a cinematic quality, stiff character performances and unconvincing storytelling have drawn criticism from the media and audiences, also exposing that AI films still have a considerable distance to go from generating beautiful shots to telling a complete story well.

Breaking! Apple is reportedly testing its first foldable iPad, possibly to be launched in 2028

Cailian Press, Liu Rui, 2026-10-26 17:58

① According to a tipster, Apple is testing its first large-screen foldable iPad, with a screen size of up to 20 inches, and it is expected to be launched in 2028; ② The device's design approach may reference Huawei's MateBook Fold, with R&D focused on minimizing the crease issue of flexible screens as much as possible; ③ Industry insiders expect the product to be priced at a high level, with first-year shipments in the range of 500,000 to 1 million units.