KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor aims to strengthen its position as a regional investment and technology hub while empowering a new generation of entrepreneurs to lead across Asean.
This comes as the Selangor International Business Summit (SIBS) 2026 opened at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here on Wednesday (Oct 14).
Running from Oct 14 to 17 under the theme "Selangor, the Gateway to Asean", the summit is organised by Invest Selangor Berhad and hosted by the Selangor State Government.
The event features 526 booths, targets 50,000 visitors and RM8bil in potential transaction value, and brings together 110 hosted delegates and 188 speakers across nine specialised conference programmes.
The opening ceremony was graced by the Raja Muda of Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, and attended by Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, government officials and industry leaders.
Letters of Intent from Shenghui Biotechnology (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Galaxy Data Centre, XTC New Energy and Wuxi Weifu Environmental Catalysts Co Ltd were presented to Invest Selangor, facilitated by UOB Malaysia. The LOIs facilitate investments exceeding RM3bil.
In his address, Amirudin called for Selangor to move beyond low-cost manufacturing towards innovation, advanced technology and higher-value industries.
"For decades, developing Asia accepted a comfortable role: the factory floor of the world, the low-cost assembler, the sweatshop of the global supply chain, low wages. That era has served its purpose, but it can no longer define our destiny," he said.
"Our transition is deliberate: we are shifting our trajectory from 'Made in Malaysia' to 'Designed and Engineered by Malaysia'."
He said Selangor's priorities included advanced automation, life sciences, green technology and digital infrastructure, with semiconductors offering significant opportunities to move up the global value chain.
While Malaysia has established strengths in semiconductor packaging and testing, Selangor is pursuing higher-value segments such as integrated circuit design, electronic design automation and intellectual property creation.
Initiatives such as the Malaysia Semiconductor IC Design Park in Puchong aim to develop local engineering talent and provide infrastructure for designing advanced chips.
Amirudin also called for more inclusive economic growth, saying Asean must collectively address inequality and ensure prosperity benefits all communities.
Meanwhile, Tengku Amir Shah in his special royal address at the opening of SIBS 2026 said Selangor's ambition should extend beyond serving as a gateway to Asean to preparing young people to lead the region.
"As SABC enters its second decade, our ambition should not simply be to make Selangor a gateway to Asean. It should be to ensure that, through Selangor, a new generation is ready to lead Asean," he said, referring to the Selangor Asean Business Conference (SABC).
He stressed that young people needed access to opportunities, networks and markets to grow their businesses and compete internationally.
Citing the state's PLATS initiative, he said more than 90,000 entrepreneurs across Selangor's 12 local authorities had been reached this year, with small traders and home-based sellers able to obtain approvals within 48 hours through a single point of contact.
He also highlighted SAY ASPIRE, which helps young entrepreneurs expand internationally, and the Triple Accelerator Programme supporting founders in deep technology, retail innovation and digital assets.
Tengku Amir Shah said regional integration must translate into practical opportunities for businesses to expand across Southeast Asia.
"The real test of Asean integration is not how often we speak of a single market, but whether a founder in one Asean country can genuinely build for ten others," he said.
SIBS 2026 comprises seven platforms covering investment, industrial development, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, healthcare, technology and talent.
These include SABC, Selangor Investment Forum, Selangor Investment and Industrial Park Expo, AiSEM@Selangor, Selangor International Care Expo, Selangor Techsphere Summit and Selangor Career Outreach Talent Expo.
The summit is supported by private-sector sponsors UOB Malaysia, JLL and OCBC.
As SIBS enters its second decade, Selangor is seeking to combine high-value industrial development with stronger regional connectivity and talent development, ensuring that economic growth creates opportunities for businesses and the next generation across Asean.
