GEORGE TOWN, March 29 – Dubbed as the Silicon Valley of the East, Penang’s position as the country’s leading Electrical & Electronics (E&E) hub is well attested in its approved manufacturing investments in 2021. With a record-breaking performance of RM76.2 billion, Penang is the largest contributor among all states, representing 39% of the country’s total.
In particular, E&E industry contributed 97% of the total investments, thanks to the mega scale semiconductor projects. With a total of 111 projects, 2021’s approved manufacturing investments are estimated to create 12,025 new job opportunities.
We remain positive on the investment performance for 2022, underpinned by a healthy investment enquiry pipeline, which a portion of the proposed strategic projects are expected to materialize in 2022. Moreover, Penang state expects the strong trade momentum to persist in 2022, after recorded all-time-high export of RM354 billion in 2021 (+14% year-on-year), generating a trade surplus of RM101 billion during the year.
Aside from Penang’s core strength on E&E, equipment manufacturing and medical technology, agritech and foodtech could be a natural extension of Penang’s industry landscape moving forwards, underpinned by our engineering expertise and well-recognized automation and IoT capabilities. The increasing awareness of the importance of food security, unreliable yields due to climate change and high labour dependencies are among the key factors to push for revolution in the agriculture and food manufacturing.
To uphold Penang’s competitive edges, the State government constantly ensures the provision world- class infrastructure and development of industrial land to support the industrial needs. To this end, Penang Development Corp (PDC) has more than 3,000 acres of land, mainly in the Batu Kawan area that can be converted into industrial usage and the agency will develop 100 to 150 acres of industrial land annually over the next three years.
Holding on the aspiration to attract 150,000 knowledge workers to Penang over the next 5 years, the State has rolled out multiple approaches in ramping the talent supply while working on raising Penang’s liveability stature. Other than the ongoing talent initiatives of prioritizing affordable housing application to knowledge workers, Penang Future Foundation scholarships, various collaborations with industry players, TVET & higher learning institutions, the state government will soon introduce a new talent initiative which aims to further enhancing Penang’s position as the destination of choice for career development.
With the tagline of “50 Years of Excellence and Beyond”, Penang is celebrating the Golden Jubilee of industrialisation. With 13 focused themes under this celebration, the State is excited to showcase the holistic capabilities of Penang’s industry and the potential to unleash innovation. In the first quarter of 2022, a series of events have been carried out, including webinar, forum and symposium.
Working together with the theme drivers, the State is eager to present more impactful events over the next 9 months. To learn more, visit 50th anniversary’s website and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.
