WCIT 2008: US$1.65 billion deal sealed on first day



Kuala Lumpur: More than US$1.65 billion in trade and investment deals were sealed today on the sidelines of the 16th World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT 2008) and other Related Events.

A total of five agreements or partnerships were exchanged today.

The exchange of documents was witnessed by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

In addition, a total of US$1.3 billion worth of investments were sealed and documents exchanged at the recently concluded 11th MSC Malaysia IAP Meeting, witnessed also by the Prime Minister.

Also present were Malaysia’s Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Maximus Johnity Ongkili, Johor Menteri Besar Dato’ Abdul Ghani Othman, Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) chief executive officer Dato’ Badlisham Ghazali and George Newstrom, the chairman of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), the consortium of over 70 national ICT associations.

The deals announced today were:
  1. The creation of iTopia to provide services in the area of content and e-infrastructure. This venture is being developed by Cisco International and Knowledge Economic City Al Madinah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  2. Between MIMOS Berhad and Microsoft Malaysia worth an undisclosed amount on the creation of the Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC) at MIMOS Technology Park. MIMOS is the Malaysian R&D organisation that functions as an advisor to the Malaysian Government on technologies, policies and strategies relating to technology development. The aim of the MIC is to accelerate local software innovation leveraging on the R&D work at MIMOS using technologies and know-how provided by Microsoft. The objective is to create an “innovation ecosystem” providing opportunities to exchange ideas, collaborate on innovative solutions and to shared challenges that will in turn help local communities translate those ideas into business success. Expected outcomes of the MIC include the development of technologies, software and tools that will be fed into the academic community, local R&D as well as software development companies, helping boost the developed and maturity of the local software ecosystem.
  3. Between MSC Cyberport Sdn Bhd and the Sunil Mantri Group, a leading developer in India on the development of the 150 acre MSC Cyberport City, a designated MSC Malaysia Cybercity in Kulai, Johor.
  4. Between the Iskandar Regional Development Authority Malaysia (IRDA) and MDeC worth an undisclosed amount to promote a partnership which will emphasize on marketing, promotion of the incubator program and generic development ideas.
  5. A partnership between PIKOM and 10 separate entities centered around an initiative to bridge the digital divide called ‘Projek Menguasai Aplikasi Internet dan PC’ worth an undisclosed amount. It involves a total of 10 partners.


According to International Data Corp's (IDC) Economic Impact Study 2007 report, Malaysia's Information Technology industry will contribute up to RM17.6bil to gross domestic product over the next four years.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Michael Lai
Office: +603 2092 1878
H/P: +6012 505 0862
Email: michael@wcit2008.org

Tan Han Seong
Office: +603 2092 187
H/P: +6012 234 7408
Email: millennium@wcit2008.org

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