Malaysia’s AI blueprint aims to shift economy up the value chain
Malaysia’s new National AI Action Plan 2026-2030 will redirect long-term value from data-centre land and power deals toward cloud services, home-grown AI models and enterprise software, MBSB Research said on Monday.
Source: The Star · July 31, 2026 at 3:02 AM · AI-assisted report
Corroborated
KUALA LUMPUR, 31 JULY 2026 —
Malaysia’s new National AI Action Plan 2026-2030 will redirect long-term value from data-centre land and power deals toward cloud services, home-grown AI models and enterprise software, MBSB Research said on Monday.
Market Impact
The five-year plan aims to connect Malaysia’s semiconductor and data-centre capacity with the missing layers of the AI stack—usable data, affordable compute, skilled talent, local models and governed datasets—according to MBSB Research, which cited Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang’s five-layer model. Malaysia’s shift from readiness to commercialisation is expected to lift recurring income streams from computing services, proprietary AI models and cloud offerings instead of one-off infrastructure sales.
Utilities, construction and industrial property are the clearest beneficiaries, the brokerage said. Tenaga Nasional Bhd will gain from higher electricity demand and new data-centre connections, while YTL Power International Bhd is positioned across green data centres, renewables, sovereign large-language-model initiatives and an Nvidia partnership. Rising AI power needs should also accelerate renewable-energy investments, helping Pekat Group Bhd and Samaiden Group Bhd in engineering and construction, MBSB Research added.
Within construction, Sunway Construction Group Bhd and IJM Corp Bhd are expected to win immediate data-centre contracts, but Gamuda Bhd stands out for diversifying into renewable energy, battery storage, its sovereign Wira language model and cloud services.
In property and REITs, industrial landowners with power access—including IOI Properties Group Bhd, S P Setia Bhd and EcoWorld Development Group Bhd—should see land values rise, while Axis-REIT is the most exposed industrial vehicle and diversified trusts could become future data-centre owners.
The government launched AI Nation 2030 alongside AI Malaysia Bhd to institutionalise policy execution. The blueprint targets Malaysia in the world’s top 10 on the Global AI Index by 2030, adds 1.2 percentage points to GDP growth from AI and creates 300,000 AI-related jobs over five years. One local fund manager said the framework helps catalyse investment but the real test is whether Malaysia converts national goals into commercially viable products and services.
Related: Tenaga Nasional