Penang’s manufacturing sector records investments of RM8.8bil in Q1

China's weakness spilled over to other Asian economies. Malaysian manufacturing slowed to its weakest pace of expansion since the survey began in 2012, and Taiwan fell to its lowest since September 2015.

GEORGE TOWN: Penang recorded RM8.8 billion in total approved investments in the manufacturing sector in the first quarter of 2019 (1Q19), maintaining the state’s reputation as one of top investment destinations in the country.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer II of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Zabidi Mahbar said the investments are 780 per cent higher, compared with RM1.0 billion approved in the same period last year.

“Of this, RM8.5 billion was from foreign investments, representing 42.1 per cent of Malaysia’s total approved foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the manufacturing sector for January-March 2019.

Notable approved manufacturing projects in Penang include projects involving Micron Technology and Jabil Circuit,” he disclosed when speaking at the Penang Domestic Seminar here today.

According to Zabidi, to encourage more investments, MIDA continued to undertake various activities and programmes in paving the way for further growth, particularly among the domestic players. 

“In 2018, MIDA set up a dedicated team called the Investment Coordination Platform (ICP) 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 exercises through debt and equity, mergers and acquisitions, divestment and initial public listing or initial public offerings (IPOs),” he added.

He said Penang had consistently been ranked among the top investment destinations in the country as from 1980 to 2018, MIDA approved 4,084 manufacturing projects with investments worth RM129.1 billion.

These projects created more than 380,000 job opportunities, mainly in electrical and electronics, machinery and equipment and fabricated metal products industries. - Bernama