Google eyeing Kl hub

Most of the local news media have quoted Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi saying that Google is interested in setting up a base in Malaysia. Apparently, Google CEO Eric Schmidt met with our Prime Minister at the World Economic Forum in Davos and expressed interest in expanding its mighty reach to our humble shores. Malaysiakini (subscription required) further reports Abdullah stating that Malaysia's policies "are supportive of the company's (Google's) activities". While we don't know exactly what he meant by "Malaysia's policies", we could presume he meant our focus on ICT growth.

The question then becomes what sort of presence does Google intend to set up? In the South East Asia region, Google already has an ad office in Singapore, which, when opened, was supposed to represent the entire region including Malaysia. When opening its Singapore office, Google also stated that Singapore's environment is very conducive to business and that the government's support was vital.

Further south, Google has a larger presence in Australia where its Sydney offices houses Sales, Support, Systems Operations, Engineering and more. It also has a sales office in Melbourne. Google's Sydney office is its base for the Asia-Pacific region

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DAVOS: Google Inc is interested to set up a base in Malaysia due to its huge ICT market, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The Prime Minister said the Government’s development plans for the ICT industry were also in line with the company’s expansion programme.

“I was told that Malaysians formed the highest group of Google users in South-East Asia,” he told Malaysian journalists after meeting the US giant’s CEO Eric Schmidt on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

It is believed the world’s top Internet search engine company was eyeing Malaysia, India or Vietnam to set up its data centre facilities.

Abdullah said the company felt Malaysia was a good place for the base due to its strategic geographical location.

“They want to make their presence felt in Malaysia. It will be a big boost for our ICT industry,” he said.

Meanwhile, the shift of economic power from the West to the East will be one of the key topics of discussion at the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Kuala Lumpur on June 15 and 16.

This historic transformation must be handled with care, said Institute of Strategic and International Studies (Isis) Malaysia chairman and CEO Datuk Seri Mohamed Jawhar Hassan.

He said this would ensure it could become a productive, constructive transformation.

The meeting will bring together over 350 global and regional leaders in business, politics and intellectual thinkers to discuss opportunities in Asia and the potential risks."

(The Star online)