KUALA LUMPUR: Chinese business tycoon Jack Ma has praised Malaysia for its speed in accomplishing its latest digital initiatives.
In an exclusive interview with Thailand’s leading English daily The Nation last week, the founder and executive chairman of the Alibaba Group said he is impressed by Malaysia’s strength, tenacity and speed in implementing digital projects.
“Honestly, we were shocked by Malaysia’s speed.
“I thought it was impossible for Malaysia, but they came through,” he was quoted as saying.
Ma made special mention of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s commitment towards making the country the first e-WTP (world trade platform) hub in the region.
He said Najib had surprised him by visiting Alibaba Group’s headquarters in China and making it a mission to realise digital initiatives within three months.
“We thought it was almost impossible to make that happen in three months. It was a huge project, but they made it on time.
“They set up a great, strong team to follow up on the project. They opened up a customs office, inspection offices and made available the land that was required,” he said in the interview which was held in his office at the group's headquarters in Hangzhou.
Ma, who is Asia’s richest person, also compared the way things are done in Malaysia with Thailand, stating that Thailand needs a lot of improvement when it comes to implementing digital projects.
“So, I think Thailand should move more speedily. This is something we expect. But we understand, of course, that the process was probably disrupted by the passing of His Majesty the King," he said.
Ma said he plans to visit Thailand later this year "to upgrade (Alibaba’s) partnership in all major digital fields covering e-commerce, logistics, finance, payments and travel."
The Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ), an e-hub established together with the Alibaba Group and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) was launched here on March 22 this year.
During the launch, Ma had said Malaysia’s DFTZ will be the first outside of China and is meant to afford small and medium enterprises and “the younger generation” more access to global markets by lowering trade barriers.
Ma was also appointed the Malaysian government’s digital economy adviser in March.