Penang, Among Top Investment Destinations in Malaysia

16 July 2019, Bayan Lepas, Penang – “The Penang state has consistently been ranked among the top investment destinations in the country over the last five decades. In terms of investment, from 1980 to 2018, MIDA has approved a total of 4,084 manufacturing projects with investments worth RM129.1 billion for Penang. Approved foreign investments in the manufacturing sector totalled RM90.4 billion, accounting for 70 per cent of total investments approved for the State, while domestic investments are the remaining 30 per cent or RM38.7 billion. In the first quarter of this year, Penang recorded another RM8.8 billion of total approved investment in the manufacturing sector, 780% higher compared with RM1.0 billion, approved in the same period last year. Of this, RM8.5 billion were from foreign investments, representing 42.1 per cent of Malaysia’s total approved FDI in the manufacturing sector for the period of January to March 2019. Notable approved manufacturing projects in Penang include projects from Micron Technology and Jabil Circuit,” said Mr. Zabidi Mahbar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer II of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) in his welcoming remarks at the Domestic Investment Seminar in Penang held this morning.

MIDA continues to undertake various activities and programmes to attract more quality investments, including from the domestic players. For example, a dedicated team namely the Investment Coordination Platform (ICP), established by MIDA is able to facilitate companies to expand their businesses and investment portfolio. This unit works closely with equity and corporate advisory firms as well as local regulators and technology providers in assisting companies in conducting business-to-business matching, capital raising exercise through debt & equity, M&A, divestment and initial public listing or IPO.

“For those who may not be aware, MIDA has established the i-incentive portal that provides comprehensive information on all incentives offered by various Ministries and Agencies concerning the manufacturing, services and primary sectors. The portal is very dynamic in nature as it is responsive to announcements of new incentives and assistance schemes offered by the Government, thus allowing the business community to obtain real-time information on the latest available facilities. It currently features 124 incentives schemes that are managed by 12 ministries and 28 government agencies. About 55% of these incentives cater to the services sectors, followed by manufacturing at 33% and the primary sector at 12% as at 30th June 2019. These incentives include tax exemptions, grants, soft loans and other forms of incentives such as equity financing, regional establishment status and training and facilitation programmes. MIDA has also developed a gateway, namely i-Services Portal as an avenue to market the services and solutions of the local service providers, both locally and abroad.” added Mr. Zabidi.

The Domestic Investment Seminar was well attended by over 300 participants from various fields, including manufacturers, service providers and other potential investors. It featured presentations by a broad range of speakers from MIDA, MATRADE, MIDF, EXIM Bank, MPC, Standards Malaysia, and SIRIM.

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About MIDA

MIDA is the government’s principal promotion agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) to oversee and drive investments into the manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia. Starting operations in 1967 with a relatively small set up of 37 staff, MIDA has grown to become a strong and dynamic organisation of over 700 employees. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur Sentral, MIDA today 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 and Facebook.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid

Director, Domestic Investment and Supply Chain Coordination Division, MIDA

Tel.: 03-2267 6633 | Email: [email protected]

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Speech by DCEO II of MIDA_Penang Domestic Investment Seminar