THE launch of Malaysia’s Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ), touted as the world’s first, was one of the most publicised events this year. It threw two names in the spotlight — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd founder Jack Ma and Catcha Group CEO Patrick Grove. First announced in March, the DFTZ has been open for business since last month. It is aimed at helping local small and medium enterprises get into cross-border trade by leveraging technology. The government anticipates that this joint venture with Alibaba, China’s e-commerce giant, will handle up to US$65 billion worth of goods and create 60,000 jobs by 2025. So convinced were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Ma of the project’s prospects, that the DFTZ deal was sealed within 10 minutes when the two met in Beijing in November 2016, a jubilant Najib revealed in March. In a nutshell, DFTZ is made up of three main components that combine physical and virtual zones. The first two — the e-fulfilment logistics hub and the e-services platform — will be carried out in collaboration with Alibaba. The third — Kuala Lumpur Internet City — the primary digital hub for the DTFZ will be developed by regional internet firm, Catcha Group, on a 10-acre tract in Bandar Malaysia. What is apparent is that Ma’s Alibaba is the clear, immediate winner from the DFTZ. It has tentacles in commerce, payment and financial services, logistics, cloud computing and other services. It is expected to use the former Low-Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang as its logistics hub to serve its e-business in Southeast Asia. The regional logistics hub fits right into Alibaba’s plan to extend its reach beyond China and into Southeast Asia. As for Malaysian SMEs, for now, it remains to be seen how many will jump at the opportunity to use the e-service platform to grow sales. The government has already thrown in incentives, announcing that goods bought online will be exempt from tax in the DFTZ as long as they are worth RM1,200 and below — a higher threshold than the earlier RM500 price range. With so much hype around it, the DFTZ’s progress will certainly be keenly watched next year.
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发表于 8-6-2018 04:34 PM
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