SoftBank’s Son Plans $50 Billion Malaysia Tech Outlay, PM Says

Masayoshi Son of SoftBank Group Corp. chose locations in Malaysia for $50 billion in technology investments, the country’s prime minister said, an outlay that would accelerate the billionaire’s global bet on AI infrastructure.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he had a videoconference with Son on Tuesday, during which the Japanese tech investor said he had picked regions in the Southeast Asian country for projects including data centers. SoftBank representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.

“He said he had chosen Sarawak - Kuching - and Peninsular Malaysia to expand investment in what would be among the largest investments in the region, worth $50 billion,” Anwar said in a speech in Malacca on Saturday. “In what areas? Artificial intelligence, new technology and data centers.”

A push in Malaysia would expand Son’s reach in Southeast Asia, a region which is emerging as a key hub for AI infrastructure such as data centers. SoftBank is already working on a $500 billion data center-focused project in Ohio, among the largest in the world, and a project in France that would cost as much as €75 billion ($84 billion). In Japan, SoftBank’s telecom unit is building data centers in Hokkaido, Japan’s northern island, and in Sakai, Osaka.

Read more: Malaysia Builds a New ‘Silicon Island’ to House Its AI Ambitions

A Malaysia investment would create new and better job opportunities, particularly for younger parts of the workforce, Anwar said. Malaysia’s ability to attract investment depends on confidence in the government and political stability, contrasting the country with others in the region, he said.

Malaysia has emerged as a major destination for the data centers, attracting investments from companies including Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. The country recorded 385.7 billion ringgit ($94 billion) of data-center-related investments from 2021 through the first half of 2026, according to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority.

The government is now seeking to wring more economic value from the boom, pushing data-center operators to support local suppliers while using the infrastructure to spur AI adoption, home-grown innovation and higher-skilled jobs. Malaysia has set a goal of becoming an “AI nation” by 2030.

Read more: AI and Chips Are Turning Malaysia Into Asia’s Growth Standout

Anwar said Malaysia needs to strengthen its capabilities in AI, digitalization and semiconductors, as well as workforce skills, to shift from back-end technology activities into front-end segments.

Earlier this month, SoftBank said it signed framework agreements with partners to explore AI infrastructure and ecosystem development in Sarawak.