Despite the current global economic challenges, local business leaders believe Malaysia is well positioned in 2023, especially in the fast-growing digital and technology sectors, according to comments by Juwai IQI Co-Founder and Group CEO Kashif Ansari.
“Malaysia is a fast-developing centre for digital technology and high-tech manufacturing,” said Ansari. “Global investment in technology is expected to climb 5.1% in 2023, according to a forecast by Gartner, and we will see a similar increase in Malaysia. Technology investment in Malaysia will climb despite inflation because these investments improve productivity.
Impact on Real Estate
“The projected growth in tech investment will have an impact on real estate. We expect new demand to manifest in the manufacturing, logistics, and alternative commercial property sectors as existing users expand and new users enter the market. We expect to release a more detailed market forecast later in the first half.
“Over the long term, a thriving white-collar technology sector will tend to drive up property demand and prices in KL, Putrajaya, and Johor. Even with increasing remote work, these employees prefer to be in the city, where they are closer to services, entertainment, job opportunities, and a community of other workers like themselves.
“Our experience at Juwai IQI is a perfect example of where Malaysian business is heading. IQI started as a real estate company, but even traditional sectors like real estate increasingly rely on technology, data, and digital services. Today, even with 30,000 agents, we consider ourselves as much a technology company as a real estate company.
“Malaysia has the advantage of a good business environment, which is in part established by government initiatives in education, tax incentives, and supportive investment.”
One of Every Four Ringgit Will Be Digital
“In 2021, the digital economy accounted for about 23% of GDP. By 2025, one out of every four Ringgit earned in Malaysia will be in the digital economy.
“Probably the most important factor in the technology industry’s growth in Malaysia is the talent pool. For workers, these are very well-paid jobs. Eight of our top ten emerging jobs in the country require digital technology skills. This includes fields like data analytics, data science, the internet of things, digital transformation, and cybersecurity.
“Today, about 8% of employment is in the information and communications technology sector, according to the Department of Statistics. There will be at least 500,000 new digital economy jobs in Malaysia by 2025.
“At Juwai IQI, we are hiring. What skills are we looking for? We need people who have strong critical thinking skills, are innovative and excel when collaborating with others.
“Specific digital skills that we are looking for include data science, digital marketing, and artificial intelligence.”
Fast Hiring In KL Compared to ASEAN
“We’ve seen research that, across Southeast Asia, hiring managers say it takes more than three and a half months to fill a tech role, but we have seen better results than that in the KL area.
“Many companies overlook what they themselves can do to improve their talent pool. Juwai IQI is constantly conducting training programs, not just for our technology workers but for people across all specialties who can benefit from an improved ability to deploy technology to increase productivity and collaboration.
“No country is perfect. Malaysia ranks well behind Singapore, for example, in digital skills. But we think too many people take Malaysia’s advantages for granted and fail to appreciate how well-positioned the country will be in 2023.
“Economically, Malaysia is in a surprisingly good situation, given the unexpected price and supply chain shocks that came one after another in 2022. Higher interest rates will cause GDP growth rates to moderate in 2023. Positive factors that support the economy include domestic demand, household disposable income, higher employment, and a rebound in tourism visits.”
