Alibaba Cloud to Establish Malaysia Data Center in Support of eWTP

Planned cloud infrastructure set to support global expansion for Malaysia’s SMEs

Hangzhou, China, May 12, 2017 – Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, announced today that it will establish a data center in Malaysia later this year to provide enterprises in Malaysia and the region with powerful, scalable and cost-effective cloud capabilities to support their global expansion. The planned data center will become the first global public cloud platform in the country.

The planned new data center in Malaysia will add to Alibaba Cloud's data centers in 14 locations worldwide, covering mainland China, China(Hong Kong) , Singapore, Japan, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and the U.S. (East and West Coast). It will empower local entrepreneurs of various industries and scales to migrate their IT infrastructure to a powerful, reliable and secure platform.

Simon Hu, Senior Vice President of Alibaba Group and President of Alibaba Cloud said: "Alibaba Cloud is helping to realize the eWTP vision by establishing cloud infrastructure to facilitate seamless cross-border online businesses for Malaysian enterprises. We look forward to laying the digital foundation for Malaysia in the new global economy, equipping the country with future-proof online marketplaces, as well as payment, logistics, cloud computing and big data services that work seamlessly in the ecosystem. By doing so, we can support businesses of all sizes to realize their full economic potential and access the global market for their goods and services."

Alibaba Cloud unveiled the plan in conjunction with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Alibaba Group, the Hangzhou Municipal Government and Malaysia's digital economy development agency (the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation or MDEC). The MOU signifies a significant milestone in realizing the vision of the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP), as it represents the first connection between a China e-hub and an international e-hub in Malaysia.

Cloud computing and big data analytics will play a crucial role as the computing infrastructure of eWTP, offering SMEs support and helping to transform Malaysia into a digital economy.

In March this year, Alibaba Group established the first overseas e-hub under eWTP with MDEC. Alibaba Cloud has made significant progress since. In addition to the planned data center, it has been granted MSC status to participate in the Malaysia Multimedia Super Corridor initiatives and has conducted training for industry players in collaboration with MDEC.

Alibaba Cloud will also build a cloud platform in Malaysia to help local SMEs to succeed in the digital age through technology such as big data and Internet of Things (IoT). In order to provide support for startups, Alibaba Cloud will provide the Alibaba Cloud Certified Professional ("ACP") certification program to train local technology talent and support the internet-related ecosystem in Malaysia.

Alibaba Cloud's presence in Malaysia dates back to early 2016, when the company dedicated its team to empowering Malaysian enterprises. In early 2017, Alibaba Cloud entered an MOU with Conversant Solutions and Prestariang Berhad to collaborate on building an integrated education platform known as EduCloud to deliver a range of cloud-based education and related services, including campus management, teaching and learning, entertainment, digital payment, and many other services and online applications.

About Alibaba Cloud

Established in September 2009, Alibaba Cloud, Alibaba Group's cloud computing arm, develops highly scalable platforms for cloud computing and data management. It provides a comprehensive suite of cloud computing services to support participants of Alibaba Group's online and mobile commerce ecosystem, including sellers, and other third-party customers and businesses. Alibaba Cloud is a business within Alibaba Group.