THE first digital free-trade zone (DFTZ) outside China will be launched in Malaysia on November 3, says Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Najib said the government had taken up the challenge and, together with the Malaysia Digital Economic Corporation (MDEC) and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), succeeded in fulfilling AliBaba founder Jack Ma’s request.

“When I met Jack Ma last year, we talked about the DFTZ concept.

“He said if Malaysia could give its approval within three months to do it, then he will acknowledge Malaysia as the first DFTZ outside China,” Najib said.

“He was so surprised and wondering how the government could do it within three months,” Najib said after launching the E-entrepreneurs conference at the Putra World Trade Centre today.

Najib had earlier announced that Malaysia would be the first nation in the world outside China to establish a DFTZ comprising an e-Fulfilment Hub, Satellite Services Hub and e-Service Platform to stimulate growth in electronic trade.

Coming on board will be more than 1,500 local small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These SMEs will also venture into the global and Chinese markets.

Najib said the SMEs would benefit from not just competing globally but in the Chinese market as well.

“The Chinese market is huge. Our entrepreneurs will stand to benefit. I got my friend supplying two containers of durian to China on the sidelines. That itself, he told me, is not enough (as the demand is high).”

The first phase of the DFTZ is expected to attract RM700 million worth of investments and create 2,500 jobs.

For this, the government will provide RM83.5 million to construct infrastructure for the first phase of the DFTZ in Aeropolis, KLIA in Sepang.

The government will also increase the de minimis, or minimum value, for imports from RM500 to RM800 to establish Malaysia as a regional e-commerce hub.

There are also plans to create a conducive ecosystem to gain benefits from innovation, particularly ideas from local start-ups. – October 31, 2017.