Budget 2018 set to boost Digital Economy - MDEC

"With both programmes going into their third year, we estimate that 150,000 rakyat would betrained in 2018; resulting in 341,745 rakyat participating in both programmes with an estimatedtotal income and revenue of RM544 million," said Chief Executive Officer Datuk Yasmin Mahmood.

Digital Economy continues to be a key driver of growth, contributing 18.2 per cent to Malaysia's gross domestic product this year and expected to exceed the projected target of 20 per cent earlier than 2020.

In a statement in response to Budget 2018 unveiled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday, she said that MDEC was pleased to note that digital inclusivity has been extended to a new flagship initiative called eLadang to encourage farmers to leverage the latest smart farming technologies (such as IoT (Internet-of-Things) and BDA (Big Data Anaytics) to improve yield and income.

As for the RM250 million allocation to develop Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) centres and improve Computer Science modules, including for Coding programmes, she said this would ensure Malaysian students gain exposure to the #mydigitalmaker education initiative launched last year.

Of the amount, RM190 million will be allocated to transform 2,000 classes into Smart Classrooms for 21st Century learning to increase creative and innovative learning.

MDEC also welcomes initiatives to encourage venture capital activities to assist startups in the form of income tax exemption being widened to include management fees and performance fees, reduce minimum investment limit in a venture company from 70 per cent to 50 per cent from 2018 to 2022 and other tax deductions.

As announced in the budget yesterday, the government would also provide grants worth RM245 million under the Domestic Investment Strategic Fund to upgrade Smart Manufacturing services, aimed atsupporting investment and business activities under the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0).

Touching on the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) which will be launched on Nov 3, Yasmin said1,900 export-ready SMEs would be flagged off to begin their export journey from the original target of 1,500 SMEs.

For the first time, she said the world would see both physical and virtual zones with additional online and digital services to facilitate cross border eCommerce and invigorate internet based-innovation.