KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — Malaysia has been selected as a manufacturing hub for 5G telecom equipment in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, producing Ericsson’s latest and most advanced 5G radios beginning from the third quarter of this year.
Its president and chief executive officer (Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) David Hägerbro said Malaysia will be the first in Southeast Asia to manufacture Ericsson’s 5G equipment for the domestic and regional markets.
“Supporting the decision to make Malaysia a regional manufacturing hub are the availability of a skilled workforce and the strong infrastructure that Malaysia offers.
“It is also an expression of Ericsson’s long-term commitment to the country, including the 5G network that we are rolling out,” he said in a statement today.
On Friday, Ericsson group president and CEO Borje Ekholm together with Hägerbro had called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in Putrajaya to further discuss Ericsson’s commitment to Malaysia.
According to Hägerbro, in line with these manufacturing plans, Ericsson will be stepping up its investments and creating more employment opportunities in the country.
“Complementing the manufacturing will be our regional distribution centre at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) as well as the maintenance and support centre in Shah Alam which will allow us to improve response and delivery of support services to customers in the APAC region,” he added.
In addition, he said Ericsson has also initiated the Ericsson Educate — a partnership with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Digital Nasional Bhd — to help educate Malaysian students on 5G and other emerging technologies.
“The collaboration is expected to reach up to 1,200 students in the first year and will enable UTM students to participate and contribute to the country’s digital economy and Industry 4.0 transformation.
“In fact, Malaysia’s first innovation centre to research and test 5G technology was set up by Ericsson at UTM in 2016,” he said. — Bernama
