Digital Money: The Rise of the Entrepreneurial State

Citi Public Digital Money | The Rise of the Entrepreneurial State | March 2022 11 Citi Public Digital Money | The Rise of the Entrepreneurial State | March 2022 10 Malaysia Malaysia's digital journey began in 1996 with the establishment of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), a special economic zone designed to boost the country's digital economy. Since then, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the organization responsible for developing the country's digital economy, has attracted over US $80 billion 12 in investments. However, the first initiative aimed at driving digital adoption was announced in 2007, when the government launched a US $4.5 billion 13 broadband project, promising to fund 30% of the initiative. Extending on this, the government in 2010 launched the National Broadband Initiative to ensure that all residents have access to high-speed Internet, with a particular focus on the underprivileged. Recently in 2019, the government also set aside US $11 billion for the National Fibre Connectivity Plan (NFCP). 14 The 5-year NFCP initiative is expected to increase the availability of high-speed, high-quality digital connectivity across the country. The government has unveiled a comprehensive digital policy (the MyDigital program) that includes several specific initiatives. The overall vision is for the digital economy to contribute • A National eCommerce Roadmap to accelerate seller adoption of eCommerce. • Digital Free Trade Zone to facilitate cross- border trade through digitalization. • Big-data analytics (BDA), Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial intelligence (AI) framework to accelerate adoption of emerging technologies across industries. To help lead this transformation, the Malaysian government is also investing US $12 billion 16 in the digital economy. Besides, the country’s central bank recently launched the financial sector digitization blueprint covering three broad themes namely (1) Finance for all which includes offering digital first solutions, (2) Finance for transformation such as growing alternative lending, and (3) finance for sustainability which includes green financing. Besides, there is also focus on broader digitization of financial sector with initiative such as Central bank digital currency proof-of-concepts, Strengthen cyber security readiness, leveraging Open data for select use- cases among others These investments are expected to lay the foundation for the country’s transformation towards a digital economy. United Arab Emirates The UAE government established the ‘National Digital Transformation Committee’ to achieve its digital transformation goals. The group, which is chaired by the head of digital government services, includes members from important ministries, government agencies, and federal and municipal digital authorities. While the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Body (TDRA) oversees driving digital transformation at the federal level, each local eGovernment/digital government authority manages onboarding its local institutions. To facilitate this transformation, the UAE government has initiated several initiatives. Among them, the most important are: • UAE Pass: A national digital identity that grants residents access to over 5,000 services provided by the city’s 100+ agencies. 23% of GDP by 2025, as well as to attract 50 Fortune 500 tech businesses and establish five unicorns, resulting in the creation of 500,000 jobs. 15 The government has released “Digital Investments Future 5 Strategy,” which focuses on five key thrusts aimed at advancing Malaysia's digital economy in accordance with MyDigital. • Five focus sectors include: AgTech, HealthTech, Islamic Digital Economy and FinTech, CleanTech, and EduTech. These industries are based on national strategic industries for digitization. • Five technology focus areas include: Cloud computing, data centres, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and digital content tools. • Five emerging technology focus areas are: Blockchain, DroneTech, Edge Computing, Extended Reality, and Advanced Robotics, which will drive innovation and guarantee the country’s relevance in the rapid evolution of digital technologies. To facilitate this transformation, the government has enacted several policy initiatives, including: • The National Industry 4WRD policy, which aims to attract stakeholders to Industry 4.0 technologies and processes. • UAE API Marketplace: Is a platform that allows the private sector to use APIs to provide residents with seamless services. The Federal Tax Authority, TDRA, and Amazon formed the first partnership. This partnership assists in accelerating the registration of sellers on to the Amazon marketplace platform. • Digital health and education: Include several initiatives such as telemedicine, distance learning and KidX, a digital platform for children. • The UAE Digital Government Roadmap: The UAE Digital Government Roadmap is divided into six primary pillars: (1) unified digital platform, (2) shared digital enablers, (3) digital infrastructure and services, (4) digital enablement, (5) digital capacity, and (6) laws, policies, and standards. The United Nations’ SDGs 2030 are also a priority for the Digital Government Strategy. • Regulatory sandboxes: Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) launched the country’s first regulatory sandbox in 2016, followed by Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in 2017. Regional Government’s initiative Abu Dhabi The region of Abu Dhabi has seen several high- impact initiatives under the guidance of Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA). ADDA has delivered digital services, platforms and channels and implemented applied intelligence, shared government, and cybersecurity solutions for government entities. Some of the key initiatives taken include: • Abu Dhabi Open Data: Launched to build the foundational capabilities of the data management agenda across the government of Abu Dhabi. • TAMM: A one stop shop portal from the Abu Dhabi Government. • Abu Dhabi Pay: A digital payment platform within the ecosystem of Abu Dhabi government services. • Apps: City Guard, a free app lets users raise a complaint or an issue with the Government regarding its services.