{"id":39438,"date":"2022-07-06T16:04:36","date_gmt":"2022-07-06T08:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/investpenang.gov.my\/attracting-investment-into-penang\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T14:09:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T06:09:48","slug":"attracting-investment-into-penang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/investpenang.gov.my\/zh-hans\/attracting-investment-into-penang\/","title":{"rendered":"Attracting Investment into Penang"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” el_class=”sec-inner-banner” css=”.vc_custom_1703741584745{background-image: url(https:\/\/investpenang.gov.my\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/contact-banner-bg.jpg?id=20253) !important;}” z_index=””][vc_column][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” el_class=”inner-banner-row”][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Attracting Investment into Penang<\/h1>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”normal” el_class=”red-separator” color=”#ee4023″ transparency=”1″ thickness=”2″ up=”15″ down=”15″][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”white-text”]<\/p>\n

6 July 2022<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css=”.vc_custom_1703764846254{background-color: #f3f5f8 !important;}” z_index=””][vc_column el_class=”fade-in animate”][vc_empty_space height=”120px” el_class=”height-x120″][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=””][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=”30092″ img_size=”full” qode_css_animation=”” el_class=”single-featured-image”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”60px” el_class=”height-x60″][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” el_class=”content-row”][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]Despite the pandemic, Penang achieved good investment. In 2021, its approved manufacturing investments<\/em>\u00a0hit a record high and its external trade topped Malaysia\u2019s list. Dato\u2019 Loo Lee Lian, CEO of\u00a0InvestPenang<\/a>, talks to\u00a0Su Aziz<\/strong>\u00a0on present<\/em>\u00a0strategies to attract high quality investment into the state and its digital economy.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018During COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 and 2021, InvestPenang was unable to organise overseas promotional missions, which was what we did in the past,\u2019 explains Dato\u2019 Loo Lee Lian, CEO of Penang\u2019s investment promotion agency,\u00a0InvestPenang<\/a>\u00a0which was established in 2004. \u2018We\u2019re the non-profit agency of the Penang state government that aim to sustain and rejuvenate the state\u2019s economy by promoting foreign and local investments. In short, it\u2019s a one stop shop that provides all you need to know about investment opportunities and how to setup as well as run a business in Penang.\u2019<\/p>\n

As an alternative measure when borders were closed due to the pandemic, InvestPenang organised investment promotion webinars to reach out to investors and prospects from various regions including the United States, Europe, Japan and China. \u2018Closure of borders caused delays in concluding investment projects because investors weren\u2019t able to do physical site visits and do due diligence,\u2019 says Dato\u2019 Loo. But the agency stayed in touch with investors via virtual platforms and updated them on industry development in Penang.<\/p>\n

Born and bred in Penang, Dato\u2019 Loo has helmed InvestPenang since 2010. Here, she elaborates more on the state\u2019s strategy for economic rebound and to attract high quality investment.<\/p>\n

Besides the pandemic, what challenges does Penang face today in attracting investment?
\n<\/strong>Dato\u2019 Loo<\/em>: In general, we don\u2019t face Penang-specific challenges. We share the common challenges that other countries are experiencing. In particular, the Great Resignation is a new global economic trend and Penang isn\u2019t spared from talent crunch. Having said that, the state government has carried out multi-pronged approaches in talent attraction, retention and development, continuously bolstering Penang\u2019s welcoming and conducive environment for talent. With the aim to support local companies on talent development program, the state government recently launched\u00a0Penang Internship Subsidy Programme<\/a>\u00a0(PISP), offering qualified local companies for internship wage subsidy.<\/p>\n

Some of the other ongoing talent initiatives include giving priority to knowledge workers on affordable housing applications. Some examples are\u00a0Penang Future Foundation<\/a>\u00a0provides scholarships to deserving students, collaborates with industry players and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and institutions of higher learning.<\/p>\n

How is InvestPenang supporting Penang\u2019s strategy for economic rebound attract foreign as well as domestic investment?
\n<\/strong>Dato\u2019 Loo<\/em>: Despite the pandemic, Penang achieve stellar investment performance in 2019-2021. Specifically, Penang\u2019s approved manufacturing investments hit a record high of RM76.2 billion in 2021 (+ 440 per cent year-on-year), representing 39 per cent of the country\u2019s total. On the external trade, Penang topped the nation\u2019s list in 2021 with an all-time high export value of RM354 billion. Penang accounted for over five per cent of the global semiconductor sales and made up close to 60 per cent of Malaysia\u2019s electrical and electronics exports. To ensure sustained industry growth, the state government will focus on opportunities arising from the secular trends. This includes supply chain reconfiguration, proliferation of disruptive technologies and rapidly growing technological landscape in the APAC region.<\/p>\n

With the disruption caused by the pandemic and trade war, the importance of supply chain resiliency is higher than ever. Further strengthening Penang\u2019s industry clusters is one of the top priorities for the state government to help companies mitigate risks of supply chain disruptions while improving companies\u2019 time-to-market at a lower cost. The state government also strives to uphold Penang\u2019s competitive edge in advanced manufacturing and focus on penetrating into the upstream activities, particularly in the integrated circuit design as well as knowledge-based solutions while strengthening the Global Business Services and Centre of Excellence activities here.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Penang will continue to promote supply chain localisation through business matching sessions between MNCs and SMEs. Penang aims to create more awareness on the capability of local companies, which in turn may create business opportunities to the latter. Separately, the state government will ensure Penang\u2019s cost competitiveness and ease of doing business remain while consistently developing and maintaining infrastructure that are able to support the industry\u2019s needs in the 4IR era.<\/p>\n

InvestPenang plays an important role in supporting investors\u2019 due diligence during site selection and provides \u2018hand-holding programme\u2019 to facilitate new projects by investors. All of these elements are important. They\u2019re part of our offering to investors, ensuring that Penang provides a conducive business environment.<\/p>\n

Penang is open to, and wants to, attract young entrepreneurs. Why do you think Penang may be attractive to young entrepreneurs?
\n<\/strong>Dato\u2019 Loo<\/em>: Penang is deemed attractive to young entrepreneurs, underpinned by vibrant industries and robust ecosystem plus the strong presence of MNCs and large local companies. Essentially, Penang\u2019s 50 years of sustained excellence has created strong talent pool and nurtured numerous homegrown technopreneurs. They have founded and built companies that have grown to become internationally renowned in their own right. As you may be aware, majority of the Bursa-listed technology companies are Penang-headquartered and almost all of them are founded by engineers.<\/p>\n

Penang state government is committed to sustain the conducive environment, enabling startups and SMEs to thrive and scale up. Other than the supply chain localisation initiatives that mentioned earlier, InvestPenang has multiple initiatives to support entrepreneurship. These include:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Penang i4.0 Seed Fund<\/a>. Providing funds for high potential technology startups and guide them throughout the journey.<\/li>\n
  2. Subsidising rental rate in Penang SME Centre for local companies and provide discount on the selling price of SMEs units to reduce their financial burden.<\/li>\n
  3. Set up\u00a0SME Market Advisory, Resource & Training<\/a>\u00a0(SMART) centre to provide advisory services to SMEs, on top of organising workshops and webinars that focus on improving SMEs\u2019 competencies.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How do you think Penang should innovate for economic recovery in the post-pandemic period?
    \n<\/strong>Dato\u2019 Loo<\/em>: The pandemic brought structural changes in many aspects of doing business. For example, consumer spending patterns, business operating models, supply chain management, talent attraction and retention strategies have to evolve accordingly to ensure Penang\u2019s industries continue to shine in the global arena. Recognising that talent is the most valuable asset to drive economic growth, Penang aspires to attract 150,000 knowledge workers to the state over the next five years. Only with the future-ready talent pool, Penang will be able to achieve high income economic status driven by digitalisation, sustained excellence and innovation.<\/p>\n

    Penang\u2019s Digital Economy
    \nWhat are Penang\u2019s efforts in developing its digital economy?
    \n<\/strong>Dato\u2019 Loo<\/em>: Penang continues to build its position as a preferred location for digital investment. Since Penang was awarded the MSC Malaysia Cybercity Status in 2005, Penang Cybercity initiative has created over 200 MSC status companies with 14,000 high value jobs, of which, 60 companies have Global Business Services (GBS) operations.<\/p>\n

    What is InvestPenang\u2019s Role in the State\u2019s Digital Economy?
    \n<\/strong>Dato\u2019 Loo<\/em>: As the state\u2019s investment agency for inbound investment in manufacturing and digital for the state of Penang, one of our objectives is to spawn viable new growth centres. For half a century, Penang has been a thriving regional hub for electrical and electronics plus all related equipment, automation and medical technology. It wants to become a regional leading hub for integrated circuit design and front-end equipment manufacturing. In terms of digital investment, InvestPenang continues to attract more investments in knowledge-based activities such as digital global business services and R&D as well as emerging tech sectors such as cloud computing, IoT, AI, data centre, cybersecurity, advanced robotics, among others.<\/p>\n

    What is Penang\u2019s Digitalisation Agenda?
    \n<\/strong>Dato\u2019 Loo<\/em>: With the aim to establish Penang as a \u2018one-stop location\u2019 for global corporates, the state government is mindful of the fact that Penang\u2019s digitalisation agenda will only materialis with the presence of sophisticated infrastructure. That\u2019s why\u00a0    Digital Penang<\/a>\u00a0was established to\u00a0enable and orchestrate Penang\u2019s digital strategy including Penang Digital Transformation Master Plan and a roadmap for it to transform into an international smart city. Penang is targeting to achieve the status of Smart International City by 2025. It aims to be the first Malaysian state to become a Gigabit City. It\u2019s also expanding the number of global business services grade-A office space or MSC Cybercentre buildings to cater to the strong industry demand.<\/p>\n

    Penang\u2019s effort to nurture tech startups is tireless. In 2018, the state government established\u00a0Penang i4.0 Seed Fund<\/a>\u00a0to provide funding for high potential tech startups and enhance the growth of Penang\u2019s digital ecosystem. We\u2019ve also curated an on-going initiative,\u00a0G27<\/a>, exclusively for i4.0 Seed Fund recipients with mentorship guidance, a networking platform linking startups with industry players, training and workshops that cover fundraising, finance and investment, human resource, legal, software development and market expansion, to name a few.<\/p>\n

    Last Words
    \n<\/strong>\u2018Foreign direct investment is a catalyst for digital economic development. Being the main location for global business services or engineering as well as emerging tech startups in Malaysia\u2019s northern region, and hosting the second highest number of MSC Malaysia Status companies in the country, Penang is in a position to attract more investments into the state. Particularly, those from strategic sectors that could bring multiple and far-reaching impacts to the local companies and economy,\u2019 concludes Dato\u2019 Loo.<\/p>\n

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