Under the collaboration, CelcomDigi said it will be leveraging the expertise of both companies on artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and analytic solutions.

CelcomDigi CEO Idham Nawawi said the telecommunications company will mainly focus on Agritech and smart city solutions.

It said Agritech involves the use of drones and AI in the agriculture industry while smart city solutions explore the development of buildings and their management.

“This partnership opens many possibilities for Malaysian enterprises to gain faster access to transformative technologies and helps them unlock the true potential of their businesses.

“Our goal is to help more businesses with their digital transformation, enabling them to remain competitive in today’s digital economy,” said Idham at the memorandum of agreement (MoA) signing ceremony.

SoftBank’s vice-president and global business division head Kimimasa Kudo said the bank has developed leading smart building solutions that utilise cutting-edge building entry and robotics solutions that will be able to contribute to the sustainable growth of the industry in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, SC-NEX CEO Jun Okawara said the company has inherited Sumitomo Corp’s innovative initiative experiences in Japan and on a global basis.

“By leveraging such experiences and utilising our broad knowledge, SC-NEX will reinforce this tripartite collaboration to achieve our objective of enriching the lives of Malaysians,” Okawara said.

Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil witnessed the signing ceremony.

Softbank is Japan’s leading telecommunications and IT corporation while SC-NEX focusses on digital transformation services.