The GSMA has ranked Malaysia second in its annual Digital Nations Index for ASEAN, behind Singapore, as it urged governments and industry to align national strategies to build a more integrated regional digital economy.
The index findings were released on the closing day of M360 ASEAN 2026 in Kuala Lumpur. The GSMA said Malaysia’s position reflected strong digital infrastructure, data governance, cybersecurity, and AI policy, while Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines were also recorded as making progress.
In opening remarks at the event, Malaysia’s Minister of Communications Y B. Dato’ Seri Fahmi Fadzil, ASEAN Secretary-General Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, and GSMA Director General Vivek Badrinath addressed priorities shaping the region’s next phase of digital growth.
Vivek Badrinath, Director General, GSMA said: “The foundations have been built, and ASEAN has set itself a bold ambition: a $2 trillion digital economy by 2030. What’s clear is that ambition must now translate into action, connecting national strategies into a more integrated, interoperable regional digital economy. Governments, mobile operators, digital platforms all have a role to play. We have the infrastructure, the talent, and the ambition. What comes next depends on how well we work together.”
Sessions on the final day of M360 ASEAN focused on linking national digital strategies into a more integrated regional market as digital services become more embedded across the region. Speakers cited in the release included Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Communications Nie Ching Teo, Sri Lanka presidential adviser Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, and executives from Axiata Group Berhad, Globe Telecom and Vodafone.
M360 ASEAN 2026 also ran two award programmes, the Digital Nation Awards and Women Digital Leadership Awards. The GSMA said PT. Telkomsel won the Best Digital Nation Video Award, with other category winners including Honor, Huawei, Maxis, NTT Docomo, One New Zealand, True Corporation and Singtel.
The GSMA pointed to Malaysia’s AI Nation 2030 strategy and cited mobile operators’ role in what it described as “digital trust”. It said that in September 2025 CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile, Telekom Malaysia and YTL Communications jointly launched a federated Number Verification API under the GSMA Open Gateway initiative, aimed at enabling banks and online retailers to verify a customer’s mobile number against real-time network data as an alternative to SMS one-time passwords.
The GSMA also highlighted initiatives it said were aimed at digital inclusion, including Axiata’s Boost ecosystem using e-wallet data to support SME lending, and healthcare projects involving CelcomDigi and Malaysian institutions using 5G and satellite connectivity for rural access and remote monitoring.
Looking ahead, the GSMA said it will convene MWC26 Doha from 8-10 November 2026 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, co-located with the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference.
