The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) in collaboration with the Kedah State Government successfully organised the Invest Series: Unfolding States ‘Business Potential’ – Kedah programme. It aimed to provide the business community with the latest updates on development and investment opportunities in the State of Kedah, as well as a platform for participants to network with relevant State Government agencies.
Participants came from a variety of backgrounds including captains of industry; business associations/organisations; senior management from the manufacturing and services sectors; entrepreneurs; academicians; and government officials.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MIDA stated that despite a challenging global economic environment, Kedah has remained a top investment stated. From January to June 2022, 71 approved projects were approved in Kedah with a total investment of RM9.7 billion. Over half of these investments were from foreign sources, recording a total of RM8.9 billion and will be instrumental in creating over 3,209 job opportunities.
The CEO also noted that like most countries around the world, Malaysia is re-strategising its industrial policies to address some of the most pressing issues in socioeconomics, like sustainability. As global players move towards building a sustainable and compliant business module, MIDA will align its strategies with the National Investment Aspirations (NIA) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles to attract high-value, sustainable investment projects and collaborate with partners that are focused on “impact investing.”
The aim is to empower the local supply chain, help companies and businesses automate their processes, and be cost-efficient in meeting industry demands while mitigating social and environmental impact. FDI and DDI performance should not be seen as an opportunity to only unlock financial returns but also to improve the social and environmental impact as well.
In his remarks said the Senior Kedah State Executive Council (EXCO) Member (Industry & Investment, Higher Education, Science, Technology & Innovation) stated that in Kedah, all investment-related agencies collaborate with the same purpose and objective, which is to facilitate investment and attract more investments to the State of Kedah.
Kedah has experienced a tremendous economic transformation from agriculture-based to manufacturing based. For the manufacturing sector, Kedah has the Kulim Hi-Tech Park (KHTP) as a catalyst, a well-established technology park known across the world.
The CEO of Invest Kedah Berhad later presented the ‘Introduction of Kedah and Investment Performance; Comprehensive 5PL Logistic and Digital Network in Kedah; Investment in Manufacturing and Services Sector; and Investment in Tourism and Agriculture Sector’ and spoke about Kedah’s upcoming infrastructure development, talent and human resource development, and current and new growth development areas.
In addition, a Business to Business (B2B) Session with the Kedah investment team provided a platform for all participants to learn more about the current development in Kedah and the plethora of investment opportunities it has to offer. For many years, Kedah has been proven to be a prime choice for investment.
The State Government is also actively promoting Kedah as an investment destination that is attractive to investors. The Southern and central parts of Kedah comprise new growth areas such as Kulim Hi-Tech Park expansion, Development of Pulau Bunting and Kedah Aerotropolis consisting of Sidam Logistics, Aerospace & Manufacturing Hub, Kulim International Airport, North Corridor Highway (NCH).
The Kedah State Government is committed to developing the new growth areas in the northern region of Kedah with projects such as Kedah Rubber City, Delapan Special Economic Border Zone (Delapan SBEZ) in Bukit Kayu Hitam under the Northern Gateway Sdn. Bhd., Kedah Science and Technology Park, Bukit Kayu Hitam Halal Hub and Logistic Centre under PKNK.
In the program, the Kedah investment team was represented by its investment agencies, namely Invest Kedah Berhad (IKB), Kedah State Economic Planning Division (BPEN), Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), Kedah State Development Corporation (KSDC) among others.
