Malaysia furthers probe into Megaspeed chip re-exportation

Malaysia’s trade ministry said it has not cleared data center company Megaspeed or its local unit, Speedmatrix, of any wrongdoing. It is working with customs officials to find out whether Nvidia AI chips brought into Malaysia were later sent to other countries against the law.

Malaysia’s Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) said on Friday that claims it had cleared Speedmatrix of any wrongdoing were incorrect. Speedmatrix rents space in Malaysian data centers, where it installs its own servers and AI chips, according to Reuters.

The ministry said its visits to these facilities were only part of its regular checks and did not mean the company had been exonerated.

Three days before MITI’s statement, Trade Minister Johari Abdul Ghani said Speedmatrix was not under investigation because there was no strong evidence against the company and no official request from another country.

Import easier than re-export

Companies do not need a license to bring AI chips into Malaysia. However, they must follow stricter rules when sending them to other countries.

MITI and Malaysian customs officials are checking if companies linked to Megaspeed sent AI chips brought into Malaysia to other countries and whether they broke any rules.

The ministry said Malaysia does not enforce export rules made by other countries. However, it expects companies doing business in Malaysia to be aware of those rules.

Singapore and the US also investigate

Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs also said on Thursday that it was still investigating Megaspeed and six people. Officials are checking whether servers sent through Singapore to Malaysia were later shipped to other countries without being properly reported.

One of those being investigated is Alice Huang, the suspected Chinese spy in Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s infidelity scandal.

On Friday, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said there was no sign that Megaspeed had sent Nvidia chips out of Malaysia. He also said Malaysia had not received any official request from Singapore or the US but was willing to help.

Malaysia data center growth slows

YTL Power, whose data center business works with Nvidia, has lost about 12.5% of its value equal to about 5.5 billion ringgit, since Tuesday. Investors are worried about the company’s ties to Megaspeed.

Banks are waiting to see what action the US government takes before funding more data center projects. Banking executives told the newspaper that funding for about half of the planned projects is on hold, with some facing delays of up to six months.