Malaysia among top Asean e-commerce markets

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is among top e-commerce markets in Asean, with gross merchandise value (GMV) expected to have grown 6% year-on-year to Us$11.4bil (Rm47.04bil) in 2020, according to the Malaysia Digital Economy Corp (MDEC).

In a statement, MDEC noted that at end2020, a total of 489,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMES) had adopted e-commerce while 378,000 SMES were trained to utilise e-commerce platforms.

Companies using e-commerce for export grew exponentially from 1,800 to 27,000.

The sector also attracted investment worth Rm1.5bil for the establishment of regional e-fullfilment hubs.

MDEC also pointed out that the country’s online retail sales index had registered a growth of 18.3% year-on-year, based on the government’s first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) report for 2021.

“This will further give confidence and drive the growth and development of the digital economy, fuelling our efforts to create an innovative, inclusive and technology-integrated society in line with Malaysia 5.0,” said MDEC chairman Datuk Wira Dr Rais Hussin Mohamed Ariff.

MDEC CEO Surina Shukri said the agency would continue to provide the necessary support to local companies and startups that have the potential to emerge as unicorn companies to further expand into the global market.

“Our efforts are in line with the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (Mydigital) and to firmly establish Malaysia as the Heart of Digital Asean,” she said.

Meanwhile, the National Council of Digital Economy and 4IR (MED4IR) chaired by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently endorsed the formation of the National e-commerce Strategic Roadmap (NESR) 2.0 taskforce, following the achievements of NESR 1.0.

MDEC is leading the project management office of the NESR 2.0 taskforce.

A total of 639 organisations and individuals were engaged as part of MDEC’S primary market research work in the development of NESR 2.0, carried out in 2020.

This included 196 companies, 18 industry associations, and 40 government ministries and agencies.