- Malaysia’s depth of cyber and operations talent made it natural choice for first multidisciplinary Global Fusion Centre
- GBS investments rose from US$184mil in 2021 to US$2.48bil in 2024, as country strengthens standing as global services hub
Standard Chartered Global Business Services Malaysia inaugurated its first Global Fusion Centre on 3 April as it celebrated its 25th anniversary in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Speaking at the inauguration, Gobind Singh Deo, Minister of Digital, said, “This Fusion Centre is a strong example of what we envision as ‘GBS 5.0’ — operations that are human-centric, AI-driven and impact-focused. It represents the integration of cybersecurity, data analytics and real-time risk management into a single, coordinated capability.”
Gobind noted that in an environment where digital systems underpin global finance and risks can emerge rapidly across borders, the concept of ‘fusion’ in cybersecurity and risk management is both timely and strategic.
“By centralising capabilities and strengthening response mechanisms, this Fusion Centre sets a new benchmark for operational resilience in the financial sector,” he said.
In operation since May 2025 and with a current headcount in the hundreds, the Global Fusion Centre’s integrated model brings together the bank’s people, technology and intelligence to enhance operational resilience and improve its ability to respond decisively in real time.
The choice of Malaysia for the Fusion Centre strengthens the country’s position as an attractive global GBS location. “Malaysia’s GBS sector has grown significantly in recent years, with a 66.8% increase in companies since 2022, now exceeding 700 entities. Investments have surged from RM730 million (US$184 million) in 2021 to RM9.87 billion (US$2.48 billion) in 2024,” said Gobind.
“We rank third in the Global Services Location Index — a position sustained through continuous innovation, talent development and investor confidence,” he added.
Cybersecurity and operations talent form foundation of Global Fusion Centre
The Global Fusion Centre is located at Standard Chartered’s Kuala Lumpur-based Global Business Services (GBS) hub, which was established in 2001 and has grown into the bank’s second-largest footprint after India, employing more than 4,400 people, with Malaysians making up 85% of its workforce.
It is the country’s first multidisciplinary Global Fusion Centre by an international bank, supporting the bank’s business across more than 50 markets worldwide.
Sharon Chung, Interim Location Head of Standard Chartered GBS Malaysia, said, “In today’s environment, where cyber, legal and physical threats increasingly overlap, the Fusion Centre enables the bank to bring these signals into one picture and connect the dots faster.”
She added, “Malaysia plays a pivotal role in this journey, serving as the global home for the Fusion Centre, anchoring its capabilities within a strong talent ecosystem and supported by robust digital infrastructure.”
Elaborating on Sharon’s point, Cezary Piekarski, Group Chief Information Security Officer at Standard Chartered Bank, said, “The talent pipeline cannot be underestimated when you think about cybersecurity because it is a very niche skill. When you scale the need for niche talent to a fusion centre, there must also be experts who specialise not only in cybersecurity, but also in different forms of fraud, intelligence and physical security. That makes it even more difficult — and more critical — to find such talent.”
For Standard Chartered, its 25-year history in the country made Malaysia the logical choice for the Fusion Centre.
“We have a critical mass of talent at various levels of seniority. This creates a great opportunity for people joining us to stay longer, as they build organisational knowledge that is essential to operating in a large organisation like ours,” Cezary added.
“This is actually the first place where we started our cybersecurity journey as a bank when it comes to combating various types of financial crime and fraud,” he said. “Instead of trying to build a completely new capability, we looked across our footprint at where we already had these pockets of talent, and Kuala Lumpur really stood out when it comes to cybersecurity talent.”
Mak Joon Nien, CEO of Standard Chartered Malaysia, said, “This initiative underscores our support for the country as it pivots to become a global technology hub and aligns with the national strategy pillars of world-class digital infrastructure, robust trust frameworks in data and cybersecurity, and nurturing future-ready talent as Malaysia advances towards its vision of becoming an AI nation by 2030.”
There is another 2030 target for Malaysia, Gobind noted. “Malaysia’s digital economy remains firmly on track to meet our target of contributing 30% to GDP by 2030 (with the 2025 target of 25.5%), supported by strong fundamentals and consistent policy direction.”
Related Articles
Keyword(s) :