Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said, citing a Bloomberg report, that SoftBank Group plans $50 billion of investments in Malaysia focused on artificial intelligence, new technologies and data centers. Anwar said Son identified locations in Kuching, Sarawak and peninsular Malaysia after a video conference, as the country aims to become an 'AI nation' by 2030 under a national AI action plan launched earlier this year. Earlier this month SoftBank signed a framework agreement with Grab and Petroleum Sarawak Berhad to explore AI and digital infrastructure in Sarawak. Other tech companies are also investing: Google announced $2 billion in 2024, Amazon Web Services plans $6.2 billion through 2038 and Microsoft $2.2 billion in cloud and AI infrastructure. The Malaysian Investment Development Authority recorded 385.7 billion ringgit ($94 billion) in data center-related investments between 2021 and the first half of 2026, and SoftBank had not responded to CNBC's request for comment.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Keywords
artificial intelligenceAI investmentdata centersMalaysia
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related tickers and likely impact
NVDA
▲ Likely positiveNvidia
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Semiconductors |
| Market cap | $5.1T |
| Close on 10/23/2026 | 211.00 |
| Change that session | -0.57% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- Malaysia economy grows 5.3% year-on-year in Q3: Advance estimate
Malaysia's economy grew 5.3% year-on-year in the third quarter, slowing from 6% in the second quarter, according to advance estimates from the statistics department. Services rose 5.4%, manufacturing gained 7.5% on export-oriented industries and construction grew 6%, partly supported by data centre projects, while mining and quarrying fell 4.9%. Malaysia, a regional data centre hub, has benefited from the global AI infrastructure boom that has boosted demand for its tech products and semiconductors. The government raised its 2026 growth forecast for the second time this year to near the upper end of its 4.8% to 5.3% range, and the central bank has held its policy rate at 2.75% since May last year. Final third-quarter GDP data will be released on November 18.
- More pain may be coming for the AI trade. Why I’m not giving up on it
The author argues the AI trade is collapsing, using Meta as an example: a large earlier rally has largely faded after the company announced a huge prospective capital raise to fund infrastructure it had expected to self-fund. He asks whether Microsoft, Alphabet or Amazon could face similar pressure, and names consumer staples such as Kimberly-Clark, Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble as alternatives. The article also cites local opposition to data centers over water use and electricity rates, and Nvidia's support for neoclouds such as CoreWeave, Nebius and Iren, which buy its chips. CoreWeave's stock fell sharply over its high-yield debt, and its ability to service that debt was questioned as funding from the prospective IPOs of Anthropic and OpenAI remained unclear. The author maintains that AI is not going away.
- Apollo's Slok Says AI Has Delivered Zero Payoff Outside of Tech
According to Apollo Global Management Chief Economist Torsten Slok, AI has delivered 'zero payoff' to corporate America outside technology despite heavy investment. Revenue per worker is rising for the Mag 7 but is flat for the S&P 493, with similar patterns in profit margins and no sign yet of AI lifting productivity growth. Companies are increasingly viewing token spending as a cost that weighs on margins, while concerns grow over debt-financed AI infrastructure, the collapse of Firmus Grid's IPO after investors balked at a $30 billion valuation, and Gartner's estimate that more than $3.5 trillion of AI infrastructure spending could be impaired by 2030. Slok argues the macroeconomic effects of AI will stay limited as long as agentic AI and token spending remain confined to a small part of the economy.
- As AI Labs Burn Cash, the Real Question Is Which Suppliers Get Paid
Microsoft confirmed it is pulling out of a planned UK AI data center being developed by Nscale, because the electricity needed would not be available until the 2030s, while keeping its other agreements with Nscale. The article argues investors should distinguish suppliers paid for hardware, such as Nvidia and Broadcom, from operators like Oracle, CoreWeave and Nebius, which build data centers, rent capacity and must fund infrastructure while waiting for customers to pay. Nvidia has invested in more than 200 companies, while Broadcom's risk lies in customer concentration. AMD is competing with Nvidia through a deal to deploy 6 gigawatts of its GPUs for OpenAI, and it granted OpenAI warrants for up to 160 million AMD shares tied to milestones. Nvidia has also agreed to buy unused CoreWeave computing capacity under certain conditions through 2032.
- Why the AI boom may pose more peril to US markets than meets the eye
The article argues the AI boom could pose a bigger risk to US markets than it appears, drawing parallels with the 2008 crisis. A Journal of Finance study found that when borrowing and asset prices both grow rapidly in the same sector over three years, the chance of a financial crisis in the following three years rises to about 40%, compared with roughly 7% in normal times. Harvard’s Samuel Hanson said the warning lights are “flashing orange,” noting that some behaviours that marked the housing bubble are reappearing in AI investing. The IMF warned on October 13 about rising leverage in the AI ecosystem, and CoreWeave shares fell 25% that week and another 9% through October 22, leaving them more than half below their 52-week high. Columbia Business School’s Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh estimates US investment in data centres, chips, networking and power could total $10.3 trillion from 2025 to 2032, while Gartner estimates AI revenue attributable to data centres through 2030 could be no more than $3.6 trillion, versus the $8.5 trillion owners need to cover spending and a 12% return.
- Is the AI Bubble About to Burst? Plus, Apple Bets on Doorbells.
The Motley Fool podcast discusses whether the AI boom is becoming a bubble and what could cause it to burst. Ray Dalio is cited as saying an AI bubble could burst in the coming period, while the host sees timing as the key question and says debt is still manageable for now. The episode notes that SpaceX is seeking another $40 billion in debt and analyzes Google's multibillion-dollar nuclear power deal with Constellation Energy and the large energy demands of data centers. It closes by discussing Apple's push into smart-home products, including doorbells, cameras and a new home hub.
Related markets
Latest news
- India's largest crypto exchange absorbs $16 million loss from internal process failure tied to retired wallet
India's largest crypto exchange, CoinDCX, says it absorbed a loss of 15.99 million USDT (about $16 million) after an internal service failed to move customer deposits out of a retired wallet compromised in a 2025 security breach. The exchange initially dismissed reports of suspicious outflows as a false alarm, but later acknowledged that users kept sending funds to the deprecated addresses. CoinDCX said customer balances, active wallets and trading systems were unaffected, and admitted it could have disclosed the incident more quickly.
- Bank deposit rates: Listed one way, offered another at the counter
Although many banks have cut their listed deposit rates, a survey on October 22 at several Hanoi branches found staff offering customers substantially higher rates, in some cases above 9% a year. At BIDV, the publicly posted 6-month rate was 3% a year, yet staff suggested 8% a year for deposits of 100 million to 3 billion VND. Another bank offered 9.19% a year for a 6-month term on deposits of 2 to 3 billion VND, against a listed rate of 5.2%, a gap of 3.99 percentage points. Under State Bank of Vietnam Official Letter No. 9736/NHNN-CSTT dated October 21, 2026, banks must cut effective deposit and lending rates across all sales channels, with the average rate on new deposits of 6 months or more falling by at least 0.5 percentage points in late 2026.
- VinFast CEO Phạm Nhật Quân Anh speaks out for first time on sale of 2 Vietnam factories
In his first exchange with analysts since taking over as CEO last month, Phạm Nhật Quân Anh said VinFast sold 70,085 electric vehicles in Q2 2026, bringing first-half sales to 43% of its 300,000-vehicle target for the full year. The company plans to launch more models, invest in autonomous driving technology and expand into more markets, including with affiliated taxi company Green SM. Vietnam accounted for 89% of its Q2 EV sales, while the Philippines, Indonesia and India are the key overseas markets, with the Americas and Europe under review. As part of its restructuring, VinFast sold two major factories and transferred 7 billion USD of debt to investors linked to Phạm Nhật Vượng and Vingroup, but said vehicles will still be produced under long-term manufacturing agreements. It also plans to launch its first gasoline-assisted EV, while the VF Wild REEV, its first range-extended EV, is the latest model.
- Oil slides over 2% as traders weigh Saudi attack risks, demand destruction
U.S. crude fell over 2% on Monday as investors weighed the risk of further attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure against the possibility that high prices could erode demand. West Texas Intermediate dropped 2.19% to $101 a barrel and Brent fell 1.89% to $114.51, after a sharp rally on Friday following Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. The Houthis said they had targeted the main airport in Riyadh and oil facilities, and Saudi authorities said they intercepted more missiles and drones on Sunday. Michael Alfaro of Gallo Partners estimated the geopolitical risk premium at about $20 a barrel, warning that a major strike on the East-West pipeline or refining infrastructure could push prices higher, though further gains would likely cut demand. He also flagged refining capacity as a longer-term challenge, while U.S. producers remain cautious about raising capital spending.
- Asia FX muted, yuan at 4-yr high; dollar drifts lower ahead of c.bank-packed week
Most Asian currencies moved little on Monday as the dollar drifted lower ahead of a week packed with central bank meetings, most notably the Federal Reserve. The dollar index fell 0.17% in Asian trade after hitting an 18-month high earlier in October. The Fed is widely expected to hold rates at 4.0% on Wednesday, after raising them by 25 basis points in September, its first hike in over three years, as U.S. inflation stays well above its 2% target. Traders will watch comments from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, along with U.S. third-quarter GDP and September PCE data. The yen was muted before a Bank of Japan meeting, where rates are expected to stay at 1.25% but with a hawkish outlook, while the yuan rose to a four-year high with support from the People's Bank.
- Musk warns over 200 AI neoclouds face ‘guppy-level death’
Elon Musk warned on X that more than 200 specialist AI cloud providers, or neoclouds, could fail or consolidate as lenders stop financing firms without substantial revenue outside AI data centers. He said SpaceX secured $40 billion of debt financing for GPUs thanks to its investment-grade status and revenue from Starlink and its rocket business. The warning follows a Gartner forecast that more than 80% of neocloud providers will cease operating independently by 2030, as AI providers may spend nearly $1 trillion on infrastructure in 2026 and another $6 trillion from 2027 to 2030 without sufficient revenue for profitable returns. Bitcoin miners that have pivoted into AI infrastructure, such as IREN and Core Scientific, could also be affected. Meanwhile, SpaceX's “Super Intelligence” business generated $7.6 billion in third-quarter revenue, up 830% from a year earlier and more than half of the company's $14.6 billion in quarterly sales.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.