Press Statement by Lim Guan Eng in Georgetown on Friday, 2^nd January 2009: 

Penang welcomes investment from medical device leader St Jude Medical 

Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, today announced that St Jude Medical, Inc., a Minnesota, USA, headquartered medical device company has committed to invest USD $30 million (approximately RM 108 million) in Penang.

The investment will include a 300,000 square-foot facility on Penang Island in the first phase of the Company's expansion. The new facility in Penang will house both an administrative office and a manufacturing plant. Construction of the new facility is expected to commence in 2009, while the facility is envisaged to be fully operational by 2011. Following all regulatory approvals, St Jude Medical products are expected to be rolled out from the Penang facility in the 2011 timeframe.

The Penang facility is projected to provide employment opportunities to 300 residents of Penang in its first year of operation. However, over a multi-year period, the facility may continue to expand to create more than 1,000 jobs for the people of Penang and Malaysia.

"St Jude Medical has selected Penang for our expansion due to a pro-business environment, skilled workforce, and its strategic location, given the growth of our business in this region," said Michael Rousseau, group president of St. Jude Medical, Inc. "We are very pleased to expand and grow our business, and become part of this community."

This new investment is anticipated to help St Jude Medical to expand their manufacturing capacity in the Asia Pacific region, as the Company's business is growing strong in this region. St Jude Medical plans to initially expand the production of their Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) products in the Penang facility. These products include pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators and leads.

St. Jude Medical has five major focus areas, which include CRM, atrial fibrillation, cardiac surgery, cardiology and neuromodulation. The product portfolios St. Jude Medical offers in these categories include:

• Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs)
• Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices
• Pacemakers
• Electrophysiology catheters
• Mapping and visualization systems
• Vascular closure devices
• Heart valve replacement and repair products
• Spinal cord stimulation devices

About St. Jude Medical Inc.

St. Jude Medical develops medical technology and services that focus on putting more control into the hands of those who treat cardiac, neurological and chronic pain patients worldwide. The company is dedicated to advancing the practice of medicine by reducing risk wherever possible and contributing to successful outcomes for every patient. Headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, St. Jude Medical employs more than 13,000 people worldwide and has five major focus areas that include: cardiac rhythm management, atrial fibrillation, cardiac surgery, cardiology and neuromodulation. For more information, please visit www.sjm.com.                                    

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* Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General & Penang Chief Minister; Member of Parliament for Bagan