SUBANG: The Selangor government has helped aerospace companies in the state, through its investment arm Invest Selangor since 2019, including overcoming the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Initiatives taken to help the industry included organising the Selangor Aviation Show 2021, which saw the participation of industry players as well as potential investors, said Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari in his speech at the Selangor Aviation Show (SAS) 2022 on Thursday (Sept 8).
He added the state had taken a leap of faith when it organised its maiden SAS last year amidst the Covid-19 pandemic which saw many still very careful of their surroundings.
"With total visitors reaching 5,000 people, 13 MOUs signed with business deals reaching up to RM100mil in value, the leap of faith that we took has positioned us on a solid footing for a greater show this year," said Amirudin.
The Selangor Mentri Besar said the Covid-19 pandemic had “devastated” the aviation and aerospace industry, with International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) data showing that global passenger traffic had reduced by approximately 60% in 2020.
He added that the reduction in passenger numbers decreased revenues by US$370bil.
"Closer to home, the pandemic has caused up to 30% revenue loss for the aerospace industry compared with revenue of RM16.22bil back in 2019.
"We are, however, past the worst point. And we can see a path towards the new normal," said Amirudin.
According to Amirudin, the National Aerospace Industry Coordination Office (NAICO) has been quoted saying Malaysia targets to attract new work packages for original equipment manufacturing suppliers involving new aircraft development including business and small jets.
He added this will benefit the Malaysian aerospace supply chain in terms of retaining and improving capabilities of SMEs in the manufacturing and training segments.
Amirudin also said Selangor remained the location of choice and added that from 2020 to date, there has been a significant increase in aerospace and aviation companies present in the state.
He also said that he believed SAS 2022 will play a pivotal role in bridging the industry players with potential investors and partners domestically and globally.
Those attending SAS 2020 included participants from Singapore, Brazil, France, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Nigeria, United Kingdom and the United States.
Selangor executive councillor for Industry and Trade Datuk Teng Chang Khim said in his speech that the aviation industry was one of the high impact industries identified by the state.
He said these high impact industries were deemed as catalysts that would generate multiple benefits for the state's economic growth in the next decade.
"Although the industry has been hit the hardest since 2020, we are now beginning to see the aviation industry thriving with domestic and global flights picking up," he said.
He also said that although the event had targeted 8,000 visitors, the headcount has indicated that some 15,000 had come to visit the show.
The SAS, launched by the Raja Muda Selangor Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, was also attended by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
