MIDA Collaborates with Kedah State Government to Highlight the State’s Investment Landscape and Its Potential
Kuala Lumpur, 22 September, 2022 — The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) in collaboration with the Kedah State Government has successfully organised the Invest Series: Unfolding States ‘Business Potential’ – Kedah program today at Perdana Hall, MIDA Sentral, Kuala Lumpur. This programme was held to provide the business community with the latest updates on development and investment opportunities in the State of Kedah, as well as a platform for participants to network with relevant State Government agencies.
A total of 300 participants were present at the event, covering various backgrounds such as captains of industry; business associations/organisations; senior managements from the manufacturing and services sectors; entrepreneurs; academicians; and government officials.
The programme began with a welcome address by Datuk Wira Arham Abdul Rahman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MIDA, followed by remarks by YB. Dato’ Wira Dr. Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail, Senior Kedah State Executive Council (EXCO) Member (Industry & Investment, Higher Education, Science, Technology & Innovation), who addressed the Kedah State Government’s investment aspirations based on the Kedah Development Plan 2035.
“Despite the challenging global economic environment, Kedah has been one of the top five (5) states for investment by the business community. From January to June 2022, there were 71 approved projects in Kedah with a total investment of RM9.7 billion. More than half of these investments were from foreign sources, recording a total of RM8.9 billion. These projects will be instrumental in creating over 3,209 job opportunities.” said Datuk Wira Arham Abdul Rahman, CEO of MIDA.
Datuk Wira Arham also highlighted, “While we have seen great success in the last 50 years, we are still resilient to achieve more because we aspire to discover new markets and empower communities. Like most countries around the world, Malaysia is restrategising its industrial policies to address some of the most pressing issues in socio-economics, like sustainability. As global players move towards building a sustainable and compliant business module, MIDA is aligning its strategies with the National Investment Aspirations (NIA) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles to attract high-value, sustainable investment projects and collaborate with partners that are focused on “impact investing.” We want to empower the local supply chain, help companies and businesses automate their processes, and be cost-efficient in meeting industry demands while mitigating social and environmental impact. FDI and DDI performance should not be seen as an opportunity to only unlock financial returns but also improve social and environmental impact as well.”
YB. Dato’ Wira Dr. Ku Abd Rahman, in his remarks said “In Kedah, all investment-related agencies work as a team with the same purpose and objective, which is to facilitate investment and attract more investments to the State of Kedah. Kedah has experienced tremendous economic transformation from agriculture based to a manufacturing based. For the manufacturing sector, Kedah is fortunate to have the Kulim Hi-Tech Park (KHTP) as a catalyst, which is already known as one of the well-established technology parks in the world. The key success of Kedah in attracting investments to the state is due to the state government’s focus on post investment activities, which prioritises taking care of investors’ needs since their first day of operation in Kedah.”
The programme then continued with a presentation by Mr. Muhamad Mahazi, CEO of Invest Kedah Berhad who presented on the ‘Introduction of Kedah and Investment Performance; Comprehensive 5PL Logistic and Digital Network in Kedah; Investment in Manufacturing and Services Sector; and Investment in Tourism and Agriculture Sector’. He also touched on Kedah’s upcoming infrastructure development, talent and human resource development, and current and new growth development areas.
In addition, a Business to Business (B2B) Session with the Kedah investment team was held to provide platform for all participants to learn more about the current development in Kedah and the plethora of investment opportunities it has to offer. For many years, Kedah has been proven to be a prime choice for investment .
The State Government is also actively promoting an investment destination that are attractive to investors such as Bukit Kayu Hitam Halal and Logistic Centre, Bukit Selambau Industrial Area, Gurun Industrial Area, KHTP Smart SME Park, Kulim Industrial Corridor, Northern Technocity and Padang Meha Industrial Area.
In the Southern and central part of Kedah there are new growth areas such as Kulim Hi-Tech Park expansion, Development of Pulau Bunting and Kedah Aerotropolis consisting Sidam Logistics, Aerospace & Manufacturing Hub, Kulim International Airport, North Corridor Highway (NCH).
The Kedah State Government is also very committed to developing the new growth areas in the northern region of Kedah with projects such as Kedah Rubber City, Delapan Special Economic Border Zone (Delapan SBEZ) in Bukit Kayu Hitam under the Northern Gateway Sdn. Bhd., Kedah Science and Technology Park, Bukit Kayu Hitam Halal Hub and Logistic Centre under PKNK.
In the program, the Kedah investment team was represented by its investment agencies, namely Invest Kedah Berhad (IKB), Kedah State Economic Planning Division (BPEN), Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), Kedah State Development Corporation (KSDC), Kulim Technology Park Corporation (KTPC), KXP Airportcity Holding (KXP), Northern Gateway Sdn Bhd (NGxSB).
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About MIDA
MIDA is the government’s principal investment promotion and development agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) to oversee and drive investments into the manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur Sentral, MIDA has 12 regional and 20 overseas offices. MIDA continues to be the strategic partner to businesses in seizing the opportunities arising from the technology revolution of this era. For more information, please visit www.mida.gov.my and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.
About Invest Kedah
Invest Kedah Berhad (IKB) is the first window or One Stop Centre to all investments into the State of Kedah. IKB entrusted to attract, facilitate and support business investments in Kedah. IKB plays the vital role of working with government agencies and local authorities to ensure a seamless set up process for local and international investors. In year 2021, IKB helps Kedah to attract investment of RM68.3 billion which is the highest in Kedah’s investment history. Invest Kedah can be contacted online at www.investkedah.com.my.
For more information, please contact:
MIDA
Mr. Sukri Abu Bakar
Director, Domestic Investment Division, MIDA
Email: [email protected] | DL: + 603- 2267 3685
Invest Kedah
Mr. Noor Ikhsan Bin Abdul Aziz
Chief Operating Officer, Invest Kedah
C Block, 3rd Floor,
Wisma Darul Aman,
05503 Alor Setar, Kedah
Email: [email protected] | Tel: (6) 04-702 7373 | Fax: (6) 04-702 7382
