Malaysia accelerates its economy by leveraging the chip and data center industries.

The wave of artificial intelligence has given rise to several industry giants in Asia, including TSMC, South Korea's Samsung, and SK Hynix. Driven by a surge in demand for high-performance chips, the valuations of these companies have skyrocketed. However, few have noticed that Malaysia is a quiet beneficiary of this AI boom. Malaysia is a core hub for low-end chip manufacturing and data center construction. While many neighboring countries are facing the dual blows of U.S. tariffs and rising energy costs due to conflicts in the Middle East, Malaysia has managed to thrive. The Malaysian government released data on Friday showing that the country's GDP grew by 6% year-on-year in the second quarter, up from a growth rate of 5.4% in the first quarter. Economic growth has mainly been driven by the manufacturing and construction sectors: manufacturing saw a year-on-year increase of 7.5%, with most industries related to chip production; the construction sector grew by 6.6%, with growth coming from data center projects across the country. Robert Walker, a researcher at the think tank Lotte International Policy Institute, stated: "Malaysia is a typical example of seizing development opportunities through diversification in the AI supply chain, and the country has now reaped the dividends of this development strategy."