CHIEF Minister Lim Guan Eng trumpeted Penang’s attractions as he spoke to potential investors in San Jose, California, on June 23.
“I am here today to share with you the reasons Penang is among the best investment destinations,” Lim said.
San Jose is a renowned city synonymous with advanced innovation and technology.
Lim gave several factors, which included Semicon Southeast Asia 2015 held in Penang recently, which was the first such event outside of Singapore.
The inaugural event recorded 31% higher attendance than the previous Semicon 2014 in Singapore.
“Malaysia’s trade relations with the United States have come a long way. At the end of 2012, US foreign direct investment (FDI) in Malaysia was US$15 billion, a 21.1% increase from 2011. US FDI in Malaysia is led by the manufacturing sector especially in the E&E industry. Malaysia was the United States’ 25th largest goods export market and 17th largest supplier of goods imports in 2013,” Lim said as he provided the impressive figures.
Penang has grown by leaps and bounds over the years to become a thriving industrialised state.
For a small island which makes up less than 0.4% of the total land mass of Malaysia, this second smallest state of Malaysia contributes 7% to Malaysia’s GDP.
Penang’s industrialisation record over 40 years provides an outstanding combination of attributes that are the cornerstone of the thriving semiconductor industry in Malaysia.
The other reasons that make Penang an attractive location are the convergence of manufacturing and services sectors which is key to future economic success.
Penang is attracting more and more SSO companies, with Citigroup, IHS, Atmel, First Solar, Osram and Jurong Shipyard expanding their operations in Penang.
The SSO sector employs over 7,000 professionals in Penang.
“We have plans for a US$891 million IT-BPO Hub to cater to the ever growing demand for Grade A office space. Together with Penang International Technology Park, the gross development value for Penang state and Singapore’s Temasek (sovereign funds) joint-venture project is estimated to be approximately US$3.05 billion,” he added.
“With 40 years of cumulative industrial intelligence, developing the state’s talented young people to move up the value chain has become a priority of the state government.
“In Penang, there are over 40 public and private universities and colleges, in addition to the eight reputable international schools. We have set up learning and training centres, such as Penang Skills Development Centre – a world-class, non-profit, training and educational centre built on a tripartite partnership model between the government, industry, and academia as we believe it is important to nurture talents that cater specifically for the industrial and services sectors,” Lim added.
Concluding his speech, Lim told the participants: “So as you have heard repeatedly today and you will hear undoubtedly after I leave this stage, Penang is open for business. Now we’re seeing an influx of multinational companies to Penang because they’re seeing the advantages of being located here. One of the factors behind the emergence of such MNCs are the uniqueness of Penang as a great place to live.”
Lim left the potential investors with these words: “We want to be your partner in helping to write the next chapter in your history. We want you to join the generations of local and foreign entrepreneurs and investors who have discovered exactly what it means when we say we are the land of opportunity. That is not a myth; it’s a proven fact.”
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