SoftBank’s Son plans US$50 billion Malaysia tech outlay: Anwar Ibrahim

MASAYOSHI Son of SoftBank Group has chosen locations in Malaysia for US$50 billion in technology investments – an outlay that would accelerate the billionaire’s global bet on artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Saturday (Oct 24) that he had a video conference with Son on Tuesday, during which the Japanese tech investor said he had picked regions in the South-east Asian country for projects including data centres.

SoftBank representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.

“He said he had chosen Sarawak – Kuching – and peninsular Malaysia to expand investment in what would be among the largest investments in the region, worth US$50 billion,” Anwar said in a speech in Melaka.

“In what areas? Artificial intelligence, new technology and data centres.”

A push in Malaysia would expand Son’s reach in South-east Asia, a region emerging as a key hub for AI infrastructure such as data centres.

SoftBank is already working on a US$500 billion data centre-focused project in Ohio, among the largest in the world, and a project in France that would cost as much as 75 billion euros (US$84 billion). In Japan, SoftBank’s telecom unit is building data centres in Hokkaido, Japan’s northern island, and in Sakai, Osaka.

A Malaysia investment would create new and better job opportunities, particularly for younger parts of the workforce, Anwar said.

Malaysia’s ability to attract investment depends on confidence in the government and political stability, contrasting the country with others in the region, he said.

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Malaysia has emerged as a major destination for the data centres, attracting investments from companies including Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google. The country recorded 385.7 billion ringgit (US$94 billion) of data-centre-related investments from 2021 through the first half of 2026, according to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority.

The government is now seeking to wring more economic value from the boom, pushing data-centre operators to support local suppliers while using the infrastructure to spur AI adoption, home-grown innovation and higher-skilled jobs.

Malaysia has set a goal of becoming an “AI nation” by 2030.

Anwar said that Malaysia needs to strengthen its capabilities in AI, digitalisation and semiconductors, as well as workforce skills, to shift from back-end technology activities into front-end segments.

Earlier this month, SoftBank said it signed framework agreements with partners to explore AI infrastructure and ecosystem development in Sarawak. BLOOMBERG