0849 GMT - Malaysia is emerging as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the global AI boom, with data-center investment and information-service exports expected to support growth in the years ahead, Capital Economics' Gareth Leather writes. Data-center investment likely contributed about 1% of 2025's GDP, while ICT-services exports rose 40% last year, he notes. Industry estimates suggest data-center capacity could increase fourfold by 2030, supporting growth as more facilities become operational, he says. Water and power constraints could slow the expansion pace, but infrastructure upgrades should help ease bottlenecks. CE raises Malaysia's 2026 and 2027 growth forecasts to 6.0% and 5.5%, respectively, from 5.5% and 4.2%. It says the main risk would be a downturn in global AI investment, which could weaken data-center spending and electronics exports.