- Encik Mohd Faizal Hizam – Ast. Director from MIDA Penang
- Encik Muhamad Husni Bin Ya – Ast. Director from Matrade Penang
- Encik Ahmad Shahir Abdul Aziz – Investment Promotion Manager from Invest Perak
- Mr Alex Tan – Vice President of SIAA – Singapore Industrial Automation Association representing IE Singapore
- Mr John Hng – Secretary of MPIA – Malaysia Photovoltaic Industry
- Professor Iskandar Baharin – Presiden of Myraig Malaysia
- Distinguished Speakers
- Members of the industry and business communities
- Members of the Media
- Ladies and Gentlemen
Good day and a very warm welcome to all of you
Penang has grown tremendously both economically and trade based on our prowess in manufacturing industry, especially in semi-conductors. The way forward is the manufacturing of higher technology.
Today’s event which focuses on the High tech manufacturing , brings together 46 foreign and local participants and more than 1600 manufacturers and supplier company representatives in business matching meetings and sourcing.
It provide an interactive platform for business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors to gain insights into local and global business prospects and opportunities, to network and establish collaboration towards gaining a competitive edge in the challenging global market.
Manufacturing remains a key pillar of Penang economy
The manufacturing sector, which contributed to 48.4% of our GDP in 2013, is an important sector to Penang besides tourism. Our GDP has witnessed an annual growth of 6% since 2005 growing our GDP from RM 39.2 billion to RM 62.6 billion in 2013. A strong manufacturing base will allow us to diversify our economy and make it more resilient. High-value manufacturing also creates good jobs and opportunities for locals, and stimulates demand for sophisticated services.
We will continue to invest in talent development, R&D, and building up the capabilities of our local ecosystem to create a more compelling value proposition for manufacturing companies to invest in Penang. Implementing innovative solutions in partnership with companies is key towards raising productivity and resource efficiency. These efforts have enabled companies in Penang to achieve commercial success by manufacturing high-value complex products in innovative and efficient manufacturing plants in high precision kind of technology like Life sciences, Industrial Automation, Solar Power and Aerospace.
Penang is well positioned to seize and support the growth in high tech manufacturing
The Life Science industry is a prime example of how companies have recognized Penang’s strong value-proposition for sophisticated manufacturing. Today, Penang is home to world-class commercial-scale life science manufacturing facilities. The National Biotechnology Policy sees biotechnology as “an enabling tool for advances in agriculture, healthcare and industry.” Companies with BioNexus status from Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation will enjoy the Tax Incentives for their Biotechnology related R&D activities. This has made Penang a top choice of setting up a facility as this island has more than 3,000 well developed local suppliers in Electronics, automation, packaging, plastics, precision engineering, metal work and software development to support this cause.
In the Medical sector, Penang is one of the major clusters in Medical Devices with more than 55 medical devices and supporting companies. Generally, local medical devices manufacturer are involved in the production of surgical and examination products. While foreign owned medical devices companies are manufacturing high value products like pacemakers, blood transfusion systems, safety intravenous cannulas & needles, orthopaedic products and medical electrodes.
With all the high tech capacity from local and overseas manufacturers residing in Penang, Aerospace has also become one of the up and growing industries in Penang. We have manufacturers like the Sam Berhad, KMWE and Honeywell Aerospace, manufacturing locally and exporting parts and technology worldwide. Industrial Automation and Process Technology plays the major part on supporting and facilitating the demand in all these sectors here.
The key word is convergence of the manufacturing services and public sector to help Penang transform into an international and intelligent city. We should focus on knowledge-intensive, innovative, high-tech and creative industries that can generate high-income jobs. Penang has the talent, technology and tolerance of new ideas to establish creative clusters. Let Penang appeal to you as an oasis of tolerance that celebrates diversity and as a mecca of talent.