Kuala Lumpur, May 5 (IANS): Social media giant, Facebook has opened a local office in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, a media report said on Thursday.

"The office launch marks a milestone for Facebook in Malaysia and we are committed to helping Malaysians and businesses connect in more meaningful ways," said Facebook South-East Asia Managing Director Kenneth Bishop.

"Our local team in Malaysia will be focused on helping businesses tap into this unprecedented opportunity to connect with mobile-first consumers," The Malaysian Star quoted Bishop as saying.

According to a recent survey by research firm TNS, 94 percent of Malaysians discovered products and brands on Facebook, and 62 percent make a purchase after discovery.

There are currently more than 18 million Malaysians on the social media platform, and 6.5 million people on photo-sharing platform Instagram, which the company also owns.

Malaysian also ranks 10th globally for the number of friends, which is 60 percent more than the global average.

The local office will be headed by Nicole Tan, who was previously the managing director of J. Walter Thompson Malaysia, an advertising company.

"Malaysians on Facebook are an active and mobile first community. They spend more time watching video on their smartphones than consumers in any other country in South-East Asia," Tan said.

The company also said that South-East Asia is its fastest growing region and Malaysia, being a mobile first country with 144 percent mobile penetration rate, is one of the key growth drivers.

Out of the 1.65 billion users on the platform globally, more than 241 million comes from South-East Asia, mostly (94 percent) accessing through mobile devices.

The opening of the local office is part of its expansion in the region following the launch of the Philippines office last month.