KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Tech giant Oracle on Wednesday said it plans to invest more than $6.5 billion on cloud services data centres in Malaysia, joining a list of US titans rushing to build up their AI infrastructure in Southeast Asia.

The firm said the cloud region would help organisations in the country modernise their applications, migrate their workload to the cloud and innovate with data, analytics and artificial intelligence.

Oracle is working to expand its cloud infrastructure business globally. The company recently projected it will surpass $100 billion in revenue in fiscal 2029, driven by increasing demand for cloud services.

Malaysia's new cloud region will be the firm's third in Southeast Asia, following two facilities in neighbouring Singapore.

"Malaysia offers unique growth opportunities for organisations looking to accelerate their expansion with the latest digital technologies," Garrett Ilg, Oracle's executive vice president for Japan and Asia Pacific, said in a statement.

"Our multi-billion dollar investment affirms our commitment to Malaysia as a regional gateway for cloud infrastructure as well as a comprehensive suite of software as a service applications deployed within Malaysia."

The statement also quoted Malaysia's Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz as welcoming the investment, saying it would help firms with innovative and cutting-edge AI and cloud technologies to boost their global competitiveness.

"Oracle's decision to establish a public cloud region in Malaysia underscores Malaysia's infrastructure readiness, and its growing position as a premier Southeast Asian destination for digital investments," he added.

Oracle is the latest global tech giant to announce major digital investments in Southeast Asia. Google-parent Alphabet said in May it would invest $2 billion to house the firm's first data centre in Malaysia.

Google on Monday said it plans to invest $1 billion to build digital infrastructure in Thailand, including a new data centre.

Amazon and Microsoft have also announced investments worth billions of dollars in the region as demand for AI hots up.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday announced that the country plans to develop a National Cloud Policy.

Anwar said it would focus on four core areas including boosting public service innovation and efficiency as well as strengthening user trust and data security.

The government would also set up a National Artificial Intelligence Office to coordinate all initiatives related to AI technology.

This, Anwar added, was in line with efforts to position the nation as a competitive player in the global AI landscape.