Deep-Dive on Malaysia’s Digital Services Trade
The rapid expansion of digital technologies around the world has impacted many economic and social activities with increasingly reliable and fast Internet connectivity changing how people communicate, work, and live. Digital services have also play...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2022
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099030105172211734/P174668089457d0060b87c026cd2d227771 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37460 |
| Summary: | The rapid expansion of digital
technologies around the world has impacted many economic and
social activities with increasingly reliable and fast
Internet connectivity changing how people communicate, work,
and live. Digital services have also played an important
role in keeping the world connected and economies running
during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is therefore crucial that
countries implement proactive polices to become more
digitalized and target the creation of an inclusive digital
economy in order to foster sustainable and inclusive
economic growth. Cross-border data transfer regulations also
play an important role in supporting trade in digital
services. The Malaysia digital economy report produced by
the World Bank in 2018 examined three interrelated issues
that are closely aligned with Malaysia’s own goal of
becoming an e-commerce hub for the region. Building on this
research agenda, this deep dive seeks to explain how the
role of digital services trade can be enhanced to contribute
to Malaysia’s competitiveness and integration into the
global marketplace. The paper is structured as follows:
section one gives introduction and context. Sections 2 and 3
benchmarks Malaysia’s digital preparedness (for example, in
terms of Internet penetration ratios) against its
structural, aspirational, and regional peers. Section 4
assesses the performance of Malaysia’s digital services
trade and digital economy, including in sub-sectors such as
e-commerce and FinTech which are both important elements of
digitalization. Section 5 discusses the constraints to
deeper integration and development of the digital sector in
the Malaysian economy. Section 6 presents the main findings
and makes policy recommendations. |
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