China's ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, plans to invest around$2.13 billion to establish an AI hub in Malaysia. The plan includes an additional$320 million to expand data centre facilities in Johor state, according to Malaysia's Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz.

The development follows significant investments by other tech giants in Malaysia. Google recently announced a$2 billion investment to create its first data centre and Google Cloud region in the country, while Microsoft is set to invest$2.2 billion to enhance cloud and AI services.

The investment is expected to boost Malaysia's digital economy, aiming to increase its contribution to 22.6% of its GDP by 2025, underscoring the county's growing importance as a digital economy hub in Southeast Asia.