THE Malaysia Entrepreneurs Development Association (PUMM) has expressed its interest to work with the Penang government to grow the digital economy in the state.
A team of business entrepreneurs and industry experts took part in a two-hour dialogue with Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, Komtar assemblyman Teh Lai Heng and agencies such as investPenang, Penang Institute, PDC Telco (a subsidiary of Penang Development Corporation), @CAT Penang and the State Secretary Office (Local Council Department). Also present was PUMM national president Datuk See Kok Seng.
PUMM Penang chairman Lee Eng Hai said the purpose of the dialogue was to propose ideas to the Penang government to grow the digital economy, led by the state government.
“The proposal theme is called ‘Remapping Penang as the Global Digital Hub’,” Lee said today.
Lee spoke on building ecosystem, attracting investments, growing talents, and for Penang to move towards becoming an E-Government; among the many topics presented.
Chow said that Penang consistently leads in attracting new investors and re-investments from existing investors.
“In 2017, Penang recorded the largest FDI inflow of MIDA-approved manufacturing FDI among states in Malaysia, valued at RM8.5 billion.
“Penang is also the second highest recipient of total manufacturing investment among states valued at RM10.8 billion. Meanwhile, domestic investment also grew steadily by 92% year-on-year to reach RM2.3 billion in 2017.
“There are more than 300 multinational corporation (MNC) status companies in Penang, out of which, more than 90% are implementing global business services (GBS) and are in the research and development (R&D) and information technology sectors.
“Malaysia’s digital economy focusing on Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data Analytics, cloud computing, platform and sharing economy, E-Commerce, and GBS continues to be a key driver of growth; and is expected to contribute more than 20% to the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020,” Chow said.
He added that the Government allocated more than RM5 billion in Budget 2019 to encourage the manufacturing sector to ride the Industry 4.0 wave. The allocation is for 2019 to 2021.
“Penang will continue to support the industry by tapping the potential of the young,” he said.
At the end of the dialogue, Chow said that the dialogue was beneficial.
He suggested in-depth discussions (based on specific topics) to be held during future dialogues.
Chow also thanked the association for engaging the state government.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Law Suun Ting