Chinese tech giant ByteDance, the parent company of social media app TikTok, has unveiled plans to invest 10 billion ringgit ($2.13 billion) in establishing an artificial intelligence hub in Malaysia.

This announcement comes as part of a broader strategy by global tech companies to expand their footprint in Southeast Asia.

As part of the deal, ByteDance will also bolster its data centre facilities in Malaysia's Johor state with an additional investment of 1.5 billion ringgit.

As per Reuters, Tengku Zafrul Aziz, the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, hailed the move as a significant step towards achieving Malaysia's goal of growing its digital economy to almost a quarter of the nation's gross domestic product by 2025.

"This additional investment by ByteDance will undoubtedly help Malaysia achieve its target of growing the digital economy to 22.6 per cent of Malaysia's gross domestic product by 2025," Tengku Zafrul said in a post on X.

The announcement from ByteDance follows a wave of substantial investments by other tech giants in Malaysia in recent months. Last month, Google revealed plans to invest $2 billion in developing its first data centre and Google Cloud region in the country, while Microsoft has pledged to invest $2.2 billion to expand its cloud and AI services.

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