IF Penang is a country, it has already achieved the status of a developed nation, investPenang director Datuk Seri Lee Kah Choon said.
Lee said the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017 was RM77.64 billion, which was equivalent to 6.6% of the national GDP that year.
“We are punching above our weight as a state.
“Look at our GDP per capita in 2017. We have achieved RM49,873.
“According to the World Bank in 2017, to achieve the status of a developed nation, the country needs to have a GDP per capita of USD 12,000. At today’s exchange rate, we are looking at RM48,000 per capita.
“So technically, according to the World Bank’s definition, we are a ‘developed nation’ if Penang is a country.
“As a nation we are not there yet, but Penang has already achieved it,” Lee said in his speech during the opening ceremony of the ‘Inspiring Future Leaders Conference’ at G Hotel today.
Lee said the state intends to grow the tourism industry.
“We have about 4 million tourists visiting Penang yearly. We hope to grow this further.
“Medical tourism is also an important industry. We have approximately 400,000 visitors who come to Penang to seek medical care annually; an amount which is about 70% of the total number of ‘medical tourists’ who visit Malaysia.
“Generally, the medical tourism industry creates a lot of opportunities. Opportunities in terms of logistics, accommodation and services for all of us to grab,” he said.
Lee said the state’s estimated medical tourism revenue in 2017 was RM550 million, or 42.3% of Malaysia’s estimated medical tourism revenue of the same year.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow gave his keynote address on ‘Penang2030 – Our Challenge’.
“As the Chief Minister, I want the people to have better income, better livelihood.
“I want to see a change in Penang – a liveable and sustainable state, a happy society with job opportunities, and better infrastructure.
“That would be my main motivation during my tenure as the Chief Minister of Penang.
“To achieve that, I launched the Penang2030 vision.
“I believe that in this digital era, things can be transformed easily if we have the right formula,” he said.
Chow said that Penang has seen some transformation and diversification in the state’s industry.
“We are leveraging and anchoring on electrical and electronics (E&E) industry but moving on to other sectors like medical devices, aerospace, aeronautics, bio science, life science and global business outsourcing.
“We are doing so as not to rely heavily on E&E. We are using the E&E ecosystem that we have nurtured over the past 40 years to develop other new niche sectors so that we can continue to grow further,” Chow added.
State Women and Family Development, Gender Inclusiveness and Non-Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman Chong Eng hoped that the conference would inspire more women to step into the business world to build the nation’s economy.
“Treat this conference as a chance for you to learn from renowned speakers who have excelled in their respective fields.
“I would like to congratulate the Penang Women Chamber of Commerce (PWCC) for serving as an avenue for women-only business owners to unite and to use it as a platform to have the voice of women heard,” she said.
Also present were PWCC president and organising chairman Datuk Annie Chin and Penang Women’s Development Corporation chief executive officer Ong Bee Leng.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Alissala Thian
Video by Chan Kok Kuan