GEORGE TOWN: The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) aims to achieve 50% of the targeted RM200bil investments for 2018 by the middle of the year.

Chief executive officer Datuk Azman Mahmud (pic) said to be on track to achieve the RM200bil target, Mida would need to rope in 50% by the middle of 2018.

“Until February, some RM80bil is being evaluated for approval. We are cautiously optimistic of achieving the RM200bil due to the ongoing trade war between China and the United States.

“There could be some impact on investments coming into Malaysia which we don’t know yet,” said Azman, who was speaking at the opening of the RM36mil Tactilis plant in Bayan Lepas.

Also present was Tactilis founder and CEO Michael Gardiner.

Azman said some of the investment that needed to be approved was from the mechanical, electronics, aerospace, medical device and pharmaceutical industries.

“The investments are from countries like Japan, the United States and Singapore,” he added.

In 2017, Malaysia approved RM197.1bil investments, which would generate some 139,520 jobs for the country.

Meanwhile, Gardiner said the company had the capacity to produce five million pieces of biometric smartcards annually.

“They are shipped to the United States, Middle East and Europe,” he said.

Gardiner added that the company would spend RM40mil more for the expansion of the plant.

“We have 90 workers now. There will be 100 more job opportunities when the expansion starts,” he said.

He added that Penang was chosen because of its strong eco-system supporting the semiconductor, electronics, test-equipment and precision-tooling industries.

Source: The Star

Photo Source: MIDA