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GEORGE TOWN, March 4 — Penang recorded a total RM14.1 billion in investments with about 75 per cent of it from foreign direct investments (FDI) in the whole of 2020.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the FDI for 2020 amounted to RM10.55 billion, making Penang the third highest manufacturing FDI recipient in Malaysia.
The FDI in Penang also accounted for 19 per cent of the country’s total FDI, he said.
“Domestic direct investments (DDI) in Penang jumped 92 per cent year-on-year to RM3.56 billion, a testament to the state’s robust industrial ecosystem as a platform in which local players can participate and thrive,” he said in a statement issued today.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, Penang recorded RM3.5 billion investments involving 58 projects, with the projects approved expected to generate 13,268 new jobs in Penang.
Chow said the DDI in Penang increased by 198 per cent to RM1.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020 and represented 51 per cent of the state’s manufacturing investment inflows while the remaining RM1.7 billion or 49 per cent came from FDI.
The FDI in Penang included projects from DexCom Inc, Ultra Clean Holdings and Bruker Malaysia.
“The state government is happy to achieve such a commendable investment performance despite global economic uncertainties,” he said.
He said the state’s versatile ecosystem and strong fundamentals have the capacity and capability to support the needs of the industries’ next-generation technologies, products, and long-term growth strategies.
“We would like to express our deepest appreciation to the investors for their confidence in Penang,” he said.
He thanked the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) for the conducive collaboration with InvestPenang in attracting strategic investments into the state.
Approved manufacturing investments in Penang were related to the state’s key industries such as electronics and electrical, machinery and equipment, scientific and measuring equipment and medical devices industries.
Investments into these sectors accounted for 89 per cent of Penang’s total approved manufacturing investments in 2020 and it accounted for 50 per cent of Malaysia’s investments in these three sectors.
“To ensure Penang remains as a preferred destination for high-quality investments, the state will continue to focus on upholding Penang’s competitive edge in advanced manufacturing, to further strengthen Penang’s industry clusters and to embark on a massive drive to attract talents into the state,” he said.
Chow said the successful roll out of the Covid-19 vaccination programme will be a key factor for the state to return to pre-pandemic strength.
He reminded the public to stay vigilant and adhere to Covid-19-related SOPs while working together to put the state’s economy on track for a speedy and sustainable recovery.
