YAB Mr. Chow Kon Yeow, Chief Minister of Penang officially launched the Global Business Services Focus Group (GFG) logo and formation of GFG Penang Chapter at InvestPenang’s 5^th Global Business Services Conference 2019 today. The GFG’s Penang Chapter with InvestPenang as the lead agency, allows various stakeholders to have a platform to share information, ideas and concerns related to the GBS industry.

PENANG, August 22, 2019 – The inaugural Penang GBS Conference today attracted the participation of over 200 industry professionals from the Global Business Services and IT, government agencies and academia coming together to benchmark current strategies, get up-to-date information on latest GBS trends, sharing sessions from inspiring leaders, and networking with industry leaders.

Organized by InvestPenang, this conference addresses digital transformation concerns relating to disruptions in digital economy, key trends and evolution of GBS landscape, emerging technologies with the theme, “Leading Business Direction in Digital Era”.

The conference was officiated by YAB Mr. Chow Kon Yeow, Chief Minister of Penang who officially launched the Global Business Services Focus Group (GFG) logo and formation of GFG Penang Chapter which was the main highlight of the event. GFG Penang Chapter, a ‘by the industry for the industry’ initiative is led by Penang’s GFG committee members consisting of key stakeholders from MDEC, OM & InvestPenang and industry players such as Cypress, HP, Intel, Jabil, JED Centre, Motorola, Osram GSS, UST Global, Plexus and Xtrategize. In his keynote address, Chow said that: “As one of the key GBS hubs in Malaysia and first GBS Focus Group outside KL, GBS Focus Group Penang Chapter with investPenang as the Focus Group’s lead agency, allows various stakeholders to have a platform to share information, ideas and concerns related to the industry”.

While manufacturing industry is Penang’s core economic driver, the service industry is equally important as Penang is one of the key GBS locations in Malaysia with over 60 companies creating over 12,000 high value jobs.

About one third of GBS companies in Penang are captive players with their manufacturing footprint here such as B. Braun, Cypress, Intel, Jabil, Motorola, Osram and Seagate, among others. In addition, there is also an increasing trend where MNCs with no physical manufacturing presence in Penang have opted to establish their shared services operations here. These include Celestica, First Solar, Swarovski, UST Global and more. These are the strong evidence that showcases Penang’s versatile talent pool in terms of both technical knowledge and language proficiency.

Chow also shared that in the State’s continuous efforts to house new and expanding knowledge- driven companies in Penang, the State government is in the midst of developing a new GBS facility, namely GBS One Mahsuri. Upon completion by 1st half of 2020, GBS One Mahsuri will provide 80,000 sqft of Grade A office space. Chow also emphasized that the State government is mindful that Penang’s digitalization agenda would only be materialized with the presence of sophisticated infrastructure. As such, the State government is currently working on a Digital Transformation Master Plan and a roadmap for Penang to transform into an international smart city. Penang is targeting to achieve the status of Smart International City by 2025 and also aiming to be the first state in Malaysia to become a Gigabit City.

Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and OM/PIKOM were the strategic partners of the 5^th Penang GBS Conference while Deloitte, Jabil and PERSOLKelly Consulting, Intel and China Southern Airlines were the conference’s sponsors. The conference also featured renowned speakers from Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Frost & Sullivan and Kimberly Clark. Industry leaders were represented by B. Braun, Cypress Semiconductor, Daytree, Intel, Jabil, Motorola, Osram, PersolKelly, PMC, Seagate and UST Global.

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About investPenang
InvestPenang is the Penang State Government’s principal agency for promotion of investment. Its objectives are to develop and sustain Penang’s economy by enhancing and continuously injecting business activities in the State through foreign and local investments, including the spawning of viable new growth centres. To support the realization of its objectives, InvestPenang also runs initiatives like SMART Centre (to assist SMEs), Penang CAT Centre (to assist talents) and @CAT Penang (to assist start-ups).

For media enquiries, please contact:
Eugenia Tan Yong Choo
InvestPenang
eugenia@investpenang.gov.my

Yeoh Bit Kun
investPenang
bitkun@investpenang.gov.my