The Malaysian government has also introduced the Innovation Pass and Innovation Belt to widen the pool of highly skilled professionals and the GPU Scheme for artificial intelligence (AI) centric startups.
Malaysia has floated a ‘Golden Pass’ scheme to attract unicorn startups and venture capitalists (VCs), establish the country as the business hub of Southeast Asia, and create high-skilled and high-value jobs.
In addition to attracting unicorns and VCs, the Malaysian government has also introduced the Innovation Pass and Innovation Belt to widen the pool of high-skilled professionals, GPU Scheme for artificial intelligence (AI)-centric startups, and the Single Window system as a one-stop centre for information and application under the various schemes, according to the Malaysian newspaper The Star.
The paper quoted Malaysian Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli saying that these schemes have gone live immediately.
Exemptions from fees & visas, subsidies on offer to unicorns, VCs
The Malaysian government has offered a range of benefits for unicorns and VCs who set up shop in the country. A unicorn is a startup valued above $1 billion.
For the unicorns, the Malaysian government has offered exemption of fees for senior management executives, subsidies for rent, and tax concessions, according to Nikkei Asia.
For the VCs, the report said that the government has exempted work visas for senior executives and expedited license approval for fund set-ups.
However, not all VCs are eligible. According to the report, only those VCs that manage assets of more than $100 million and have a “strong track record of investing in and scaling successful tech startups” are eligible.
“We are offering a series of incentives, including LP (limited partner) funding access opportunities, subsidized office spaces, expedited license registrations, and exempted fees for employment passes,” the report quoted Rafizi.
‘We’ll make Malaysia Southeast Asia’s base for global companies‘, Rafizi has said that the government plans to make Malaysia the hub of technology companies in Southeast Asia with these schemes.
In his keynote address during the KL20 Summit in the national capital of Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Rafizi said the scheme is also intended to develop a future generation of entrepreneurs in Malaysia.
“With the right investors and talent in Malaysia, we will make Malaysia the Southeast Asian base for global technology companies under the Unicorn Golden Pass. We want to attract global unicorns to enter Malaysia so that high-skilled and high-value jobs are created, besides developing a pipeline of future entrepreneurs and senior leaders in tech,” said Rafizi, as per The Star.
Rafizi said the government aims to make Malaysia one of the top 20 startup ecosystems in the world.
“The ambition is for Malaysia to be the choice destination for early-stage and growth capital; to be the centre for world-class entrepreneurs and skilled talent; and to be the home for world-leading startups looking to start, grow, and scale,” said Rafizi.
Rafizi highlighted Malaysia’s advantages in his address, such as its connection to some of the world’s biggest markets.
“Malaysia is closely linked geographically and culturally to the largest markets in the world: Southeast Asia, East Asia, India, and the Middle East. Our diverse domestic population, combined with high-quality digital amenities and affordable cost, makes us an ideal testbed for product launches and pilots,” said Rafizi, adding that the country is the “gateway to the east“.
Incentives for semiconductor plants, AI startups
The Malaysian government has also floated schemes to establish a semiconductor ecosystem in the country and incentives for VCs and unicorn startups.
The Star quoted Rafizi as saying that, even with all these incentives, the country will not be able to attract the best companies and talents if “artificial intelligence infrastructure is not well supported“. To address this, he said the government will focus on securing greater capacity of high-computer chips within its data centres.
According to Nikkei Asia, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the establishment of semiconductor plants near Kuala Lumpur.
The report said Anwar announced the establishment of an integrated chip design hub near Kuala Lumpur. The companies setting up operations in the hub are Phison Electronics’ new venture, MaiStorage, ARM Holdings, Malaysian chip design solutions company SkyeChip, and Shenzhen Semiconductor Industry Association.
In laying out his government’s approach, Anwar said, “We are positioning Malaysia as an axis for leaders in semiconductors, clean energy, agritech, and Islamic fintech. Doubling down on our edge will tap into the higher-value effort to create new growth verticals and transform our fortunes.”
