Jack Ma was inspired by launch of Malaysia's MSC

KUALA LUMPUR: Jack Ma of Alibaba fame was inspired to establish his company following the successful launch of Malaysia's Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in 1997.
The Alibaba Group co-founder and executive chairman shared this bit of interesting memory at the launch of the company's first national office in Malaysia at Bangsar South, here today.
"I was ecstatic on reading news of the MSC. It crossed his mind then, that, if Malaysia could do it, why not me.
"This was the dream 20 years ago and when I met with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad this morning, I thanked him for inspiring me," he said in his speech at the event.
MSC Malaysia, the Special Economic Zone and high-technology business district was officially inaugurated by the Mahathir when he was the fourth Prime Minister on February 12, 1996.
Mahathir returned to office as the seventh Prime Minister after the Pakatan Harapan coalition won the 14th General Elections.
The establishment of the MSC was crucial to accelerate the objectives of Vision 2020 and to transform Malaysia into a modern state by 2020, with the adoption of a knowledge-based society framework.
As for Alibaba, it was established in 1999 in Hangzhou, China by Ma and his partner Peng Lei.
Earlier today, Ma met with Mahathir at the Prime Minister's Office and he was wowed by the premier's knowledge on technology.
"It was a fantastic meeting. We talk about using technology to create jobs, empower small businesses and farmers. To train as many young people as possible. We believe in the young people.
"I am confident in Malaysia. We need to break the barrier as in future, 80% of the small businesses will be online," he said.
Ma also said that with the office here, he believes that Alibaba could facilitate the growth of small businesses further, hence creating more jobs especially for the young generation.
"This office is bigger than my original office when I first established Alibaba 18 years ago. We need Malaysia as a partner and Malaysia has excellent young talents," he said.
Meanwhile, Mahathir said he had a good exchange of ideas on various subjects with Ma.
Mahathir disclosed this in a post uploaded on his official Twitter account, saying "we had a good exchange of ideas on a wide range of subjects". — Bernama