GEORGE TOWN – State investment agency InvestPenang is optimistic it can still attract investments despite a RM62.5 billion shortfall in capital and a shortage of land.
Its shortfall in capital is in approved manufacturing investments figures between last year and 2021, while for land, it has had to refer some investors to neighbouring Kedah, namely the Kulim Hi-Tech Park and Sg Petani.
Despite Penang only attaining RM13.71 billion last year compared to the record-setting RM76.2 billion in 2021, Invest Penang director Datuk Seri Lee Kah Choon said the state can still bring in investments in manufacturing and services, which have been its mainstay for economic growth since Covid-19 lockdowns.
Manufacturing is mostly driven by the electrical and electronics (E&E) segment, of which Penang is an important player in the global supply chain.
Lee, who is also special adviser to the Penang chief minister, said that investments enquiries are still coming in strong numbers.
“World demand for E&E is expected to reduce by around 4% in 2023. As a result, some potential investments have been put on pause mode.
“The mid- to long-term projection for E&E is more than 4% growth annually, so the state is in the position to grab various opportunities from it,” he told The Vibes.
“This cooling down period is also good for us to digest and consolidate after the record high investment of RM76.2 billion in 2021,” he added.
Lee also urged investors to look at the table of investments among Malaysia’s states, which would show that Penang is number two after Johor.
Real estate specialist Datuk Toh Chin Leong meanwhile, said investors have to be “gently recommended” to southern Kedah due to Penang’s shortage of land.
He also highlighted the “disconnect” where record investment figures had not stimulated the local property market as anticipated.
Penang is now ranked number two nationwide in property overhang statistics with up to 11,000 units left unrealised in the commercial open market.
Of this, 40% of such units belong in the affordable range, Toh told The Vibes.
Toh, who formerly headed the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia Penang chapter, urged the state to fine-tune its housing policy to overcome the glut in the property market.
“The market remains sluggish despite the move by developers towards building for the affordable bracket in view of the perceived huge demand in such categories.”
He also called for better planning to deal with traffic congestion and uncertainty over the Penang public transport master plan, which may derail investors from snapping up housing units here.
“We need better town planning to ease congestion whenever a high-impact project is approved. Factors that emerged after Covid-19 need to be taken into account too, such as the digitalisation of office work and retail now driven by e-commerce.” – The Vibes, March 17, 2023
