KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 ― The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and Chinese social media platform Weibo today inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the development and implementation of a pilot for the Virtual City portal.

In a joint statement, they said the portal, running on the Weibo platform, would enable China consumers to get information on the products and services offered by any Malaysian city as well as providing shared experiences, recommendations and other useful tips with each other.

The collaboration is aimed at raising awareness and expanding the cross-border relationship with Malaysian brands and products and this will be done by leveraging on the power of China’s social media capabilities.

"The goal is to drive demand for Malaysian brands and catalyse cross-border e-commerce activities between Malaysia and China. It will also see the cultivation of Malaysian talents who can specifically use the Weibo social-commerce platform,” the two parties said.

MDEC will engage with key government agencies and the private sector for the participation in the development and implementation of the Virtual City portal, which is expected to be launched this year.

"It will be the first Virtual City in South-east Asia and the third to launch outside China, after Virtual City London and Tokyo,” the statement said.

This MoU signing ceremony was held in conjunction with Weibo for Business event that Weibo co- organised with MDEC. MDEC chief operating officer Datuk Ng Wan Peng signed the MoU on behalf of the government agency while Weibo was represented by international general manager Jennie So.

At the event, local business owners were able to discover and explore Weibo’s marketing features and tools through various coaching workshops and showcase.

Weibo is among the most popular social media platforms in China, with over 497 million monthly active users and 216 million daily active users and 94 per cent of the daily users are below 30 years old.

"As a result, Weibo has become an essential component of any digital engagement strategy in China which includes leveraging on its highly engaged ecosystem and features, comprising short messaging as well as photos and videos sharing,” the statement said.

MDEC is the agency under the Communications and Multimedia Ministry entrusted to lead the nation’s digital economy forward. ― Bernama