Convergence is not the only path that the high technology market seems taking; there are seven other paths namely dematerialisation, virtualisation, mobility, product intelligence, networking, interactivity and globalisation. These eight pathways of technological advancement were articulated by Daniel Burrus. The hard trend of technological advancement flows through these eight specific pathways, which each of them is a hard trend itself. A hard trend is a projection from measurable, tangible, and fully predictable facts, events or objects. Science defines the trend as a general direction which something is developing or changing. Demographics is one of the primary generators of tangible, measurable hard trend. Depending on one target market, either young or old generation can be one of the clearest and most dramatic examples. Southeast Asia’s growing technology market with current market capitalisation (public listed companies in ASEAN) at estimated USD20 billion alone holds enormous promise for Malaysian technology-based companies due to the region’s massive young, tech-savvy population. One of the strategy insights is to expand early. Take for instance Southeast Asian e-commerce, giant Lazada and transportation/financial services Grab are two prominent examples of companies adopting a regional mindset and scaling from day-one. Founded in 2012 by European venture builder Rocket Internet, Lazada launched as a regional company from the beginning with e-commerce sites across Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. This ‘big bang’ launch afforded Lazada the chance to grow each market individually, while applying learning between markets to optimise the model. It also granted Lazada the infrastructure needed to support key differentiators like offering users 2-day delivery. This strategy attracted China’s Alibaba, which acquired a controlling stake in Lazada in 2016 and has invested USD4 billion into the business in recent years. Similarly, Grab scaled early in its journey, an approach largely responsible for its rise to rapid growth not simply in other countries, but across different services and products including ride-hailing, fintech, and delivery. GrabTaxi launched in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in June 2012, and rather than expand to other Malaysian cities, they made the decision to quickly expand to the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam all within the span of two years.
Engaging local regulators and having local partners are also insight strategies for high technology companies wishing to penetrate Southeast Asia’s market. Malaysia’s Journey to High Technology Market Malaysia embarked on an export-oriented industrialisation started in the early 1970s with notable success up to now in the manufacturing of immediate goods; high technology, capital intensive & knowledge driven industries; and resourced-based industries. The strategy entailed a strong drive for foreign direct investments to achieve high economic growth. The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) was instrumental in this regard along with other government agencies. Established in 1967 under Act of Parliament, 1965, MIDA is the principal Malaysian Government agency responsible for the promotion and coordination of industrial development in the country. The agency serves as the first point of contact for investors who intend to set up projects in the manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia. Through the establishment of industrial free-trade-zones, export incentives, and generous investment incentives for foreignmanufacturers to offshore their manufacturing facilities to Malaysia, the strategy has resulted in significant inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the manufacturing sector. Since then, Malaysia’s export-oriented industrialisation strategy, guided by various industrial development policies (e.g. Industrial Master Plan (IMP)), has resulted in remarkable economic growth throughout the 1980s and 1990s. To further strengthen exports, especially in high technology related industries, Malaysia embarked on a Knowledge-Based Economy in the 1990s, with the establishment of Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) and the creation of Vision 2020. The high technology, capital intensive and knowledge driven were mostly created during this period.
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Malaysian Technology Strategic Outlook 2019/2020 Intergration of High Technology
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