Regarding the Biden administration's policy restricting the export of AI chips and technology, our Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry, Liew Chin Tong, believes this will not impact our existing data centers.
Speaking to the media after attending the 2025 Economic and Business Forum today (16th), he said they would monitor the situation and assess potential future impacts, also engaging with internal stakeholders and the new U.S. government to understand the regulatory scope.
“We will seize the opportunity to engage with the incoming (U.S.) government.”
According to media reports, Biden's new policy is intended to control the flow of U.S.-designed AI chips and technology in overseas markets, ensuring they are not exported to countries like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
The U.S. Department of Commerce states that the latest regulations are to prevent China from obtaining the high-end computing semiconductors needed to develop advanced AI technologies.
The new policy divides the globe into three tiers, with the first tier being the Group of Seven (G7), along with Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and Ireland, comprising 18 countries and regions generally unrestricted by the regulations.
Our country is classified as tier two, subject to corresponding export restrictions, while China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea fall into the third tier, meaning U.S. companies cannot export advanced semiconductors to these countries.
Additionally, Liew Chin Tong mentioned that our country is overly focused on real estate development, which is not greatly beneficial to our broader economic goals.
“The global supply chain has been constantly shifting in recent years, and investors choose Malaysia not because we have many industrial zones, but because we have a strong ecosystem. While factories are vertically connected worldwide, they lack domestic connectivity.”
He believes that our country must position itself as a secure and resilient supply chain, so industrial parks should focus on developing the supply chain and ecosystem, rather than merely being seen as real estate projects.
In light of this, he stated that in building industrial parks, the mindset of separating workplaces from residential or living areas must be changed.