What’s going on with Malaysia and Elon Musk’s Starlink?

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Hello reader,

I’m going to be honest with you – I’m quite unhappy about the fact that Twitter, the platform I use to complain about my problems and look at pictures of my favorite K-pop idols, has been rebranded to “X.”

I miss the little blue bird and what it was before all this happened, and I’ve got some not-very-charitable things to say about Elon Musk, the man behind this move, as I’m sure many other people do.

But this newsletter isn’t about me lamenting the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. It’s about another Musk-owned company – namely Starlink, the satellite-internet unit of SpaceX – and what it’s doing in Malaysia.

My segues are getting better, aren’t they? Anyway, let’s get into this.

Today we look at:

• Starlink in Malaysia
• How GrabRentals is doing
• Other newsy highlights such as our takeaways from Temu’s lawsuit against Shein and how much Singapore’s digibanks spent in their first few months of operations

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Twinkle twinkle, not-so-little Starlink

Image credit: Timmy Loen

When a company applies for a license in Malaysia, the country’s laws require that the maximum ownership of a foreign entity in that licensee is 49% – unless granted an exemption. Starlink received this exemption from the communications and digital minister, one of only four companies to have gotten this privilege since 2005. Let’s find out more:

• E is for exemptions: The decision to exempt Starlink from the foreign ownership requirement was made after assessing the “value and benefits” it provided to the country, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission told Tech in Asia. The agency added that this decision was made with other government ministries that had their own requirements.
• Connecting Malaysia: Following the development, Starlink will begin providing satellite-internet services to educational institutions located in Malaysia’s rural areas. Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said that the approval of Starlink’s license applications is part of the government’s efforts to close gaps in internet access around the country.
• Starlink for everyone: Beyond its collaboration with the Malaysian government, Starlink is also offering its services to the country’s consumers. Its broadband plan costs around US$48 a month, though users will also need to purchase a device that costs at least US$500.

Read more: Malaysia grants Musk’s Starlink rare ownership exemption to operate in country

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