Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and CICC Capital Management Co., LTD , a private equity investment arm of China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC), have inked memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish the China-Malaysia Gaming and Digital Content Fund, with an estimated target fund size of $100 million.

Minister of Digital, Gobind Singh Deo, said in a statement last Thursday that this strategic fund is set to further strengthen Malaysia’s digital content industry and showed that global interest and confidence had grown in Malaysia as a gaming hub in this region over the last two years.

According to the statement, the digital content industry has contributed significantly to economic growth in Malaysia, providing 8,200 jobs as of 2023.

Malaysia has over 300 local homegrown digital content companies, contributing an estimated MYR 1.4 billion ($330 million) to the national gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s digital content industry recorded cumulative impact revenue of MYR 87.25 billion ($20.31 billion), exports worth MYR 11.18 billion ($2.6 billion), and MYR 80.26 billion ($18.69 billion) in investments, from 2011 to 2023.

Notably, several local creative content companies have achieved global acclaim.

7th Beat Games became the first Malaysian studio to win an Independent Games Festival (IGF) Award 2024 in California, US for their game ‘Rhythm Doctor’.

Internationally acclaimed animation titles such as Upin & Ipin, Ejen Ali, Mechamato, and Didi & Friends have been received well globally, elevating the nation’s creative reputation and driving strong export growth.

In addition, Malaysian game studios such as Passion Republic and Glow Production are making their mark in the global gaming arena, contributing high-quality game art and co-development expertise to blockbuster titles including Spider-Man Remastered, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Elden Ring.

Gobind expressed confidence that Malaysia would be able to develop into a gaming hub in the region.

He said this could be achieved through new partnerships between Malaysian companies and those in other countries which have thriving gaming industries and ecosystems.

The establishment of the China-Malaysia Gaming and Digital Content Fund is one such example of how the sector can develop further and faster towards realizing Malaysia’s plan to become a leader in the gaming sector worldwide, he added.

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