Malaysia Government Sets 20% Annual Growth Target For E-Commerce Sector

The Malaysian government has set an annual growth rate target of 20 per cent for the e-commerce sector in the country, from 14.3 per cent growth posted in 2017, via various initiatives.

International trade and industry minister Darrell Leiking said e-commerce contribution to GDP in Malaysia continuously improved over a period of seven years to 85.8 billion ringgit ($20.7 billion) in 2017 from 37.7 billion ringgit ($9.1 billion) in 2010, with an average annual growth rate of 12.5 per cent.

He added that the government through the National E-Commerce Council (NECC) will continue to support the growth and development of the sector through the implementation of a respective strategic national e-commerce roadmap.

Since its establishment in 2016, the NECC’s achievements in developing and enhancing the e-commerce ecosystem’s competitiveness included registering over 120,000 online businesses at the Companies Commission of Malaysia.

Small and medium enterprises registered with the “Go eCommerce” platform – an initiative aimed at guiding companies in e-commerce adoption – exceeded 20,000.

The implementation of the Digital Free Trade Zone pilot project in Cyberjaya supported by Alibaba founder Jack Ma has also accelerated the growth of e-commerce activities by providing a platform for local enterprises to conduct their business and services.

Furthermore, on November 12, 2018, Malaysia signed the ASEAN Agreement on Electronic Commerce, a concerted effort between the ten countries of the bloc to smoothen cross border e-commerce transactions by reducing barriers and lowering entry costs.

Source: investvine.com