Talent, regional capability and proximity to Singapore are making Kuala Lumpur worth a closer look for AdTech and performance media teams.
More AdTech businesses are building performance media teams in Kuala Lumpur to support Singapore and the wider region. Here's what makes KL work as a hub, and five questions to settle before you hire.
Key takeaways
- AdTech and performance media businesses are building teams in Kuala Lumpur to run regional operations, often supporting Singapore-based clients and leadership.
- KL's appeal goes beyond cost: a multilingual workforce, an established regional services ecosystem and easy access to Singapore.
- The most important decision isn't the location. It's defining the work: execution, performance diagnosis or regional decision-making each need a different team.
- A KL team works best with clear decision rights, a strong team lead and access to the client context behind every brief.
- Settle five questions before you hire: local market needs, decision authority, leadership, language requirements and how you'll measure success.
In our recruitment conversations across Southeast Asia, we're seeing more AdTech and performance media businesses build out teams in Kuala Lumpur, including operational work that supports Singapore and the wider region.
The interesting question is what's drawing them there, and whether the team they build can deliver what the business actually needs.
Cost plays a part, of course. But a salary comparison won't tell you who can untangle a difficult campaign, spot a performance problem early or explain to a client what needs to change. Those are talent questions, and they belong near the top of the brief.
What is a performance media operations hub?
A performance media operations hub is a team based in one location that runs media work across several markets. Depending on how it's set up, that can include campaign setup and trafficking, optimisation, reporting, quality assurance, platform governance and, at the more senior end, performance diagnosis and recommendations for regional clients.
The hub doesn't replace market teams. It gives them consistent delivery and frees senior people in each market to focus on clients, strategy and growth.
Why are AdTech businesses choosing Kuala Lumpur?
Three things come up again and again: talent, regional capability and proximity to Singapore.
Talent. Greater KL has an established multilingual workforce, with Bahasa Melayu, English and Mandarin widely used in business, alongside other regional languages. InvestKL, the government agency that attracts regional operations to the city, points to that talent base as a central part of KL's appeal. For media teams supporting several markets, language range is a practical advantage, not a nice-to-have.
Regional capability. Public job postings offer a useful signal. KL-based regional media roles increasingly cover campaign delivery, performance oversight and governance, not just execution. One agency leadership brief we've seen explicitly describes an expansion of its ASEAN operational responsibilities. That points to broader regional capability being built in the city.
Proximity to Singapore. KL and Singapore share a time zone and are about an hour apart by air. For businesses with clients, commercial teams or regional leadership in Singapore, regular collaboration is easy. Working hours overlap completely, teams can meet in person without much planning, and problems get solved while everyone is still at their desk.
The wider backdrop: Malaysia's GBS sector
KL's rise as a media hub sits within Malaysia's broader Global Business Services (GBS) sector. In October 2025, Malaysia's Ministry of Digital reported 749 GBS entities nationwide, more than 36,000 high-value jobs created, and RM9.87 billion in GBS investment in 2024, with sector revenue projected at RM28.14 billion for 2025.
Those figures describe the whole services industry, not performance media specifically. But they show a mature ecosystem for regional operations: experienced managers, established employers and a government actively supporting the sector.
Start with the work, not the headcount
For businesses considering a KL hub, the most useful first step is getting precise about what the team will actually do.
A team handling campaign setup and trafficking needs a different mix of experience from one expected to diagnose performance, advise markets and make decisions. The first can scale with strong process and good training. The second needs commercial judgement, client communication skills and the confidence to push back.
Many hubs start as the first and are quietly expected to become the second. That's fine, as long as the hiring, seniority and pay reflect it. If they don't, you end up with capable people in roles that were scoped too small, and the best ones leave.
Get clear on the work before deciding on the headcount.
What to look for when hiring a KL media team
Platform knowledge is the starting point. Depending on the role, you may also need:
- Commercial judgement: understanding why performance is changing and what the business should do about it.
- Client communication: explaining recommendations clearly to stakeholders in other markets.
- Language skills: matched to the accounts the team will actually support.
- Multi-market experience: knowing that what works in Singapore may not work in Vietnam or Indonesia.
- Leadership: at least one person who can set standards, coach the team and manage upwards to regional leadership.
Then give those people room to use their experience. Hiring capable people into roles with little authority is an expensive way to create another approval queue.
The team lead matters most of all. In our experience, the hubs that work start with a strong lead who shapes the structure before the team scales. We've written more about why the offshore team lead is the most important hire you'll make.
Singapore is close. Make that useful.
Proximity is an advantage, but geography won't write your operating model.
A KL team still needs to know who owns the client relationship, who makes campaign decisions and when an issue needs escalating. Access to the brief, and the thinking behind it, matters just as much as access to the platform.
A few practical habits make the Singapore link work:
- Include KL team members in client and planning calls, not just the handover afterwards.
- Schedule regular in-person time. It's a short trip, so use it.
- Document decisions where both teams can see them.
- Give the KL lead a direct line to regional leadership, not just to their line manager.
For more on keeping distributed teams connected, see our guide to what makes remote work actually work.
KL, Manila or Jakarta: which hub fits?
KL isn't the only strong option in the region, and the right choice depends on the work.
- Kuala Lumpur suits regional teams supporting several markets, especially where Mandarin or close collaboration with Singapore matters.
- Manila offers a large, highly English-proficient talent pool with deep experience in ad operations and performance media delivery, well suited to teams that need to scale.
- Jakarta makes sense when Indonesia is a priority market and the team needs local market knowledge and Bahasa Indonesia.
Many businesses end up with more than one. Our guide to building a high-performing offshore hub in SEA covers how to choose.
Before you hire: five questions to settle
Take these into your next planning meeting:
- Which roles need local market knowledge? Identify the work that can serve several markets and the work that needs to stay close to individual clients.
- What can the KL team decide independently? Set clear authority for optimisation, recommendations and escalation.
- Who will lead and develop the team? Budget for management, coaching and progression alongside delivery.
- Which languages and market experience are essential? Build the brief around the accounts the team will actually support.
- How will you measure success? Include quality, responsiveness, campaign outcomes and rework alongside cost.
These answers will shape the roles, seniority and structure you need.
Kuala Lumpur as a media hub: quick answers
Why are companies building performance media teams in Kuala Lumpur?
Mainly for talent, regional capability and proximity to Singapore. KL offers a multilingual workforce, an established regional services ecosystem and a shared time zone with Singapore, about an hour away by air.
Is Kuala Lumpur a good alternative to Singapore for media operations?
It can be a strong complement. Many businesses keep client leadership and strategy in Singapore while building regional delivery and performance teams in KL.
What roles work well in a KL media hub?
Campaign delivery, optimisation, reporting, platform governance and QA, plus more senior performance and regional operations roles once the team has strong leadership.
How big is Malaysia's GBS sector?
According to Malaysia's Ministry of Digital, there were 749 GBS entities in the country as of October 2025, with more than 36,000 high-value jobs created and revenue projected at RM28.14 billion for 2025.
What should I do first when planning a KL team?
Define the work the team will own and the decisions it can make. Then hire the team lead before scaling the rest of the team.
Sources and further reading
- Ministry of Digital Malaysia, Investments in GBS industry see massive surge, to drive revenue in Malaysia to RM28.14 billion in 2025, October 2025
- Business Today, RM9.87 billion boost propels Malaysia's bid as ASEAN's GBS powerhouse, October 2025
- MIDA, Regional establishments
- InvestKL, IKL Talent Programme
Considering a performance media team in KL? Send us the roles you're planning. We can help you assess the talent, seniority and structure you'll need.
If you're sitting with any of these questions right now:
→ How can I streamline my processes and cost base across recruitment?
→ How can I motivate my current and future team in 2027?
→ How should my team be structured across markets and offshore hubs?
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