Mar 29 – The Penang government will continue to focus on advanced manufacturing, besides further strengthening the industry clusters and making aggressive efforts to attract new talents to Penang this year.

State Entrepreneurial Development, Trade and Industry Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain said it is important to ensure that Penang remains a destination of choice for high-quality investments.

“For example, we will hold targeted webinars with potential investors (foreign companies) from the United States, China, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan this year to spur their interest to set up businesses in Penang.

“The state’s investment arm, InvestPenang, is constantly interacting with new and existing investors.

“Through these efforts, several major companies such as Lam Research, Smith + Nephew and Dexcom have chosen Penang as their investment destinations.

“This is a testament that the Penang government is doing a great job to attract foreign investments, and making sure that foreign companies feel comfortable in Penang,” Abdul Halim (PH – Batu Maung) said during his speech at the state Engagement Session between the state executive councillors and the assemblymen at St Giles The Wembley Hotel today.

According to Abdul Halim, InvestPenang was currently in discussion with Lam Research, Smith + Nephew, Dexcom and other companies to organise the Supplier Day.

“Through this, investors are welcomed to provide information on the materials or services they are looking for in the local market and the selection criteria for their suppliers.

“This will allow them to have a direct interaction with the potential local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small and medium industry (SMI), and turn them into local suppliers, besides speeding up their local sourcing process.

“The Supplier Day is expected to be held in May and October this year,” he added.

Abdul Halim said since 2009, the Penang government through the Penang Career Assistance and Talent Centre (CAT) has continuously worked to attract and retain talents in the state through various programmes and initiatives.

“This year, the CAT centre will continue to organise programmes focusing on promoting Penang as a career destination to attract new talents.

“Several webinars have been planned to attract more talents to Penang.

“The CAT centre is also planning to hold a ‘Career Exploration Week’, by inviting companies that are actively searching for new talents in their respective companies.

“This will provide job opportunities for those who are seeking for jobs.

“Apart from that, the CAT centre will also collaborate closely with TalentCorp, Social Security Organisation (Socso) and Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) to promote their programmes targeted at helping talent and job seekers in the country, especially in Penang,” he added.

Source: Buletin Mutiara