PENANG'S badge as the ‘Silicon Valley of the East’ continues to sparkle as it was reported today that the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), a federal agency, facilitated realised investments totalling RM13.67 billion, creating over 14,000 jobs in the state last year.
Delighted with the achievement, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said that the encouraging figure is evidence of investors' confidence in the long-term prospects offered in Penang and the surrounding northern region as a whole.
"I would like to thank NCIA for helping to facilitate investments, thus supporting the encouraging investment growth recorded by Penang last year.
“In this regard, the state government also welcomes NCIA's efforts to further increase Penang's attractiveness to investors, beyond the main sectors such as the electrical and electronics (E&E) and machinery and equipment (M&E), particularly in technology and skilled talent."
Chow said that he wants the NCIA to focus on increasing the value chain for the state's growing small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), especially those with potential to become large-scale local corporations.
Chow said this during an appreciation ceremony for companies involved in the Centre of Excellence (CoE) programme and NCER Technology Innovation Centre (NTIC) in Penang today.
It is understood that realised investments refer to projects that have been implemented, while approved investments are those at the planning stage that have been officially sanctioned.
Penang has led the pack in recording the highest approved investments among all states in 2023.
The state dubbed the ‘Pearl of the Orient’ saw RM71.9 billion in approved investments followed by the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (RM58.3 billion), Selangor (RM55.3 billion), Johor (RM43.1 billion) and Kedah (RM28.7 billion).
These figures are based on statistics released by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority on February 29.
Meanwhile, NCIA chief executive officer Mohamad Haris Kader Sultan said the success of recording the realised investments of RM13.67 billion was the result of close and continuous cooperation with stakeholders, including the federal and state governments, and their agencies.
"The investments are noted to include the focus sectors in the NCER Strategic Development Plan such as manufacturing, agribusiness, logistics, digital economy and tourism.
"Last year also, NCER's people-based talent development programme benefited more than 4,955 micro, small and medium enterprises since it was implemented in 2019 and created more than 16,100 job opportunities in Penang," he said.
The NTIC is an initiative that focuses on activities related to research, design, technology, innovation and commercialisation.
In addition, it is also the main platform in attracting technology-related businesses to NCER, especially in Penang, through collaboration between SMEs, multinational companies and the academia. – The Vibes, March 15, 2024.
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