invest malaysia - 13 december 2014

8/10/2019 Invest Malaysia - 13 December 2014

1/8

Star SpecialHE STAR Saturday 13 December 2014

Driving economic growth through innovation > 5 Platform to support start-ups > 7

INVEST MALAYSIA


2/8

Diversified approachto investment

INVEST MALAYSIA StarSpecial, Saturday 13 December 2014

A S the governments maindriver of investmentinitiatives in themanufacturing and servicesector, the Malaysian Investment

Development Authority (MIDA)as provided and promotedumerous investmentpportunities as well as facilitatedoint ventures across multiplendustries.

MIDA has exceeded its014 target of RM52bil for the

manufacturing sector.For the rst nine months of

his year, approved investments inhe manufacturing sector totalled

RM63.5bil, an increase of 81.4%ompared to the correspondingeriod last year.

Manufacturing projectspprovals during thiseriod were concentrated inetroleum products (includingetrochemical), chemical andhemical products, electric andlectronics, basic metal productsnd transport equipment.

These ve industries play amajor role in the developmentf the manufacturing industry,

which accounted for RM50bilr 78% of the total investmentspproved for the period.

Malaysias manufacturingector continues to grow andransform as the countryubstitutes low value-addedssembly operations for highalue-added activities thatromise long-term growth.

The manufacturing sector playsbig role in contributing to theross domestic product (GDP),

which currently stands at about5%.

Malaysias economicundamentals remain strongespite the less than optimistic

xternal economic environment.During the rst half ofhis year, all sectors recordedxpansion, with growth driven byhe services and manufacturingectors amid resilient domesticemand and an improvingxternal sector, says Datuk

Azman Mahmud, chief executivefficer, MIDA.

Azman adds that themanufacturing sector expanded

strongly, the highest growth inthree years, spurred by higherglobal semiconductor sales.

Meanwhile, the services sectorexpanded further, led by strongactivity in the wholesale and retailtrade as well as communicationsubsectors.

During the rst half of thisyear, the services sector growthincreased by 6.3% supported bystrong domestic consumption andinvestment activities.

Currently, the services sectoraccounts for 55.2% of the countrysGDP compared to governmentstarget of 67% by 2020.

For the rst nine months ofthis year, 3,422 projects withinvestments amounting toRM96.6bil were approved inthe services sector, comprisingdomestic investments totallingRM84.8bil and foreigninvestments of RM11.8bil.

These approved projects wereexpected to create about 77,800employment opportunities.

No time like the present

The recently tabled Budget2015 forecasts an economicgrowth between 5% and 6%.This growth is expected tobe reinforced by private andpublic investments, which areanticipated to surge by 10.7% and4.7% respectively next year.

Malaysia can expectnew growth areas in themanufacturing sector in thecoming two to ve years.

The government is promotinginvestments in the manufacturing,sector including in biotechnology,optics, photonics, nanotechnology,micro-electromechanicalsystems, wireless technology,

green technology (solar),telecommunication equipment,optical bre, voice/pattern/vision recognition or synthesisequipment, new generationnetworking and digital equipmentand systems, medical devices andadvanced materials.

The Economic TransformationProgramme (ETP) with itsNational Key Economic Areas(NKEAs) and Strategic Reform

Initiatives are being implementedto chart the way forward.

The ETP, which is supportedby the 11th Malaysia Plan andthe New Economic Model, willprovide clear platforms in theform of wide-ranging investmentsthrough its entry-point projects(EPPs) and business opportunitiesacross the economy, explainsAzman.

The ETP has identied 12NKEAs that have the potentialto generate high income: oil, gasand energy; palm oil and relatedproducts; nancial services;wholesale and retail; tourism;communications content andinfrastructure; education;electrical and electronics; businessservices; health care; agriculture;and greater Kuala Lumpur.

MIDA will assume an importantrole in ensuring that there is asignicant leap in investmentactivities in the 12 NKEAs andnon-NKEAs led by a more dynamicprivate sectors to achieve thetargets.

The services sector willspearhead growth with allsubsectors recording expansion.

This is driven by production-related activities such as wholesaletrade, transport and storageand reinforced by an improvingexternal sector.

The sector is expected to growby 5.6% next year accounting for55.4% share of GDP supported byexpansion across all subsectors.

As Malaysia moves towardsbecoming a developed nation,greater emphasis will be given todevelopment of the services sectorto serve as the engine to propeland sustain the economy.

Because of its large sizeand sustained high growth in

recent years, the services sectoris expected to play a biggerrole in generating income andemployment as well as in leadingeconomic growth ahead, saysAzman.

This trend is consistentwith the developments seen inthe services industry in majordeveloped economies such as theUnited States, European Union and Japan. The governments focus on

SINCE the mid-1990s, Malaysiahas adopted a more focused andtargeted approach in attractingquality investments in hi-tech,capital intensive and knowledgeintensive industries; high value-added industries; research and

development activities as wellas in new growth areas in linewith the governments effort tobecome a high-income nationby 2020.

To further encourageprivate investments in theservices sector and enhancethe efficiency of the sector,the Malaysian government isundertaking a two-prongedstrategy to develop the sector to liberalise the services sectorto attract foreign investments,and to enhance the capacity ofdomestic service providers toincrease its competitiveness andproductivity.

One of the measures takenby the government to furtherdevelop the services sector is toliberalise it in phases to attractforeign direct investments(FDIs).

To date, 45 services sub-sectors have been liberalised,including tourism services, ICT,health care, education, businessservices and professionalservices.

Based on last years gures,the manufacturing sectorremains the largest contributorto FDI, taking up RM14.57bilfollowed by services withRM11.16bil and primary sector,specically in mining andquarrying with RM11.147bil.

Several companies havebeneted from and respondedpositively to MIDAs effortsDreamEDGE and AemulusCorporation.

DreamEDGE was establishedin 2007 as an engineeringservices solution provider.

The company offers digitalengineering services that cutacross industry verticals such asautomotive, heavy industries,

Ripe for the picking

the services sector will continuedespite the substantial gainsmade by this sector in the countrybecause Malaysia still needs totake a bigger leap and tap the fullpotential of the services sectorto contribute the targeted 67% toGDP by 2020.

A harbinger of things tocome

With the effort to furtherliberalise the services sector, thegovernment foresees that FDIs inthe services sector will increasesignicantly in future.

The presence of FDIs in theservices sector, besides providingmore capital, technology andknowledge to the domesticservices sector, can also result inimproved productivity, efficiencyand market expansion for export -ready services.

After all, a favourableinvestment environment inMalaysia, including the availabilityof excellent infrastructure,telecommunication services,nancial and banking services,supporting industries as well asa pool of talent and skilled andtrainable workforce, has madeMalaysia an attractive investmentlocation to serve the global andregional markets.

Similarly, in the manufacturingsector, higher value-added,hi-tech and knowledge-intensive projects in new growthareas of the sector, includingbiotechnology, advancedelectronics, renewable energy andmedical devices have resulted inMalaysia successfully developingits hi-tech industries.

A positive indicator thatMalaysia continues to be afavourable destination for foreigninvestors is reected in recentranking reports.

The county recorded its bestperformance in four years, jumping three notches to 12thamong 60 countries in the recentWorld Competitiveness Yearbook by the Institute for ManagementDevelopment.

It is essential to attract qualityinvestments to strengthen theservices sector, particularly to

meet the growth target of thecountry, says Azman.Moving forward, innovation

and creativity will be the keyin ensuring that Malaysiacontinues to develop its hi-techmanufacturing sector.

To assist foreign and localinvestors, MIDA acts as a one-stopcentre to facilitate businesses asthe countrys central investmentpromotion agency.

rail, electronics, precisionequipment and tooling design.

Ever since our inception, wehave been sourcing and hiringalmost 99% of our talents locally.

Were a strong believerthat with the proper guidance

and right exposure, our localtalents are more than capable ofdelivering their assigned tasks,says Khairil Adri Adnan, chiefexecutive officer.

According to Khairil,Malaysia has had an establishedmanufacturing ecosystem foryears and it would make sense forcompanies and manufacturers tohave their R&D closer to home.

Through the collective effortof the Malaysian governmentsprogrammes, DreamEDGE hasbeen extensively engaging inthe human capital developmentactivities to increase the skills andbuild the necessary capabilities oflocal engineers to become world-class engineers through industry-specic technical skills training,technology and knowledgetransfers as well as internationalexposures to attract high-valueengineering works to Malaysia.

Aemulus Corporation, whichcelebrates its 10th anniversarythis year, designs, develops andmarkets semiconductor testersworldwide.

The company, based in Penang,will focus on the markets in Chinaand the United States next year.

Malaysia has been a verypopular location in South-EastAsia. The cost over talentsdevelopment potential is low,the ecosystem is complete andencouraging, the environment isconducive for business and thegovernment is geared towardsbusiness-oriented policies,especially MIDA who has beenestablishing incentives for localand foreign industries to focusmore on R&D, which is the corefor future revenues.

Very few countries can matchwhat they have been doing, saysmanaging director, Ng Sang Beng.

Malaysias economic fundamentals remain strong despite the less than optimistic external economic environment.


3/8

PoweringLearningInnovations

2015

JANUARYINTAKE

NOW OPEN

StarSpecial, Saturday 13 December 2014 INVEST MALAYSIA 3

In recent years, there hasbeen an increase in businessopportunities through IT.

Dr NanthaKumar, deanof the Facultyof InformationTechnologyand MultimediaCommunicationat OUM.

OUM takes ICT-relatedbusinesses to the next level

N Malaysia, ICT-relatedbusinesses have developed intoa core component of society,

ervading all economic and socialctivities.

It is becoming increasinglypparent that any kind of modernay business needs highly trainedpecialists not only in specic

elds but also in various relatedreas of information technologyIT).

Open University MalaysiaOUM), through its Faculty ofnformation Technology and

Multimedia CommunicationFITMC), offers various of IT-basedrogrammes.

Learners will acquirextensive knowledge of IT whilelso developing their knowledgef programming, system design,omputer networks, informationystems, Internet computingr digital media applicationsepending on the programmehosen by them, says Dr Nantha

Kumar, dean of FITMC.Dr Nantha also adds that

hese programmes will touchn information technology as ahenomenon and its underlyingrinciples and practices.

It will particularly explorehe complexity of relationshipsetween users, databases andystems, the theories of designnd also the management ofreativity and innovation, hexplains.

Far-reaching opportunities

In recent years, there have beenrowing business opportunitieshrough IT for enterprising

Malaysians.In fact, innovative IT-based

mall enterprises constitute a keyconomic characteristic not onlyn Malaysia but also in other Asianountries.

According to Dr Nantha,his is why relevant businessnd management principlesre covered in most of therogrammes under FITMC.

He says that the courses coachearners to resolve businessroblems and management taskssing IT and information systems.

These programmes willelp alleviate skills shortagen Malaysia and overseas, as

it equips professionals with asolid foundation in informationcommunication technology, headds.

Transferable skills

In addition, learners willdevelop advanced knowledge ininformation technology throughspecialised areas of study suchas Internet computing, businessinformation systems, digitalmedia design, computer networksand mobile computing.

We emphasise both technicaland theoretical competenciesin our programmes so that theknowledge gained by the learnersare transferable across thedisciplines, says Dr Nantha.

He goes on to say that theprogrammes not only provideextensive information computingknowledge, which is useful forindividuals seeking career growthin the IT eld, but also equipsthem with important transferableskills such as entrepreneurship,project management,communication as well asthinking skills.

Anyone who wishes tospecialise in the elds will benetfrom these programmes, as ithelps in expanding programmingknowledge rapidly across popular

IT domains.

Flexible programmes

Similar programmes are beingoffered by a number of publicinstitutions of higher learningas full-time courses that requirestudents to attend weekdayclasses.

In contrast, OUM offers theprogrammes on a part-time basis,enabling learners to keep theirfull-time jobs and study on theside. The faculty is now unveilinga new programme the Bachelorin Digital Media Design withHonours.

Diploma in IT Bachelor of IT with Honours Bachelor of IT and Managementwith Honours Bachelor of IT and NetworkComputing with Honours Bachelor of IT (InternetComputing) with Honours Bachelor of Business InformationSystem with Honours Bachelor of Digital Media Designwith Honours Master of IT Doctor of Philosophy (IT)

Courses offered by theFaculty of InformationTechnology and MultimediaCommunication

In recent years,there have beengrowing businessopportunitiesthrough IT forenterprisingMalaysians. Infact, innovativeIT-based smallenterprisesconstitute akey economiccharacteristic notonly in Malaysiabut also in otherAsian countries.

The Creative Industry Outlook(20112014) study carried out byPwC has proven that the industryvalue for creative multimediaamounts to RM4.2tril.

This revenue is brought in fromfour major industries featurelms (RM288bil), animatedcontent (RM270bil), video games(RM192bil) and mobile application(RM88.5bil).

This signicant number showsthe critical role played by thecreative industry in contributing tothe countrys economy.

Therefore, OUM aims toproduce graduates who havemastered the elements of theeld especially using web andmultimedia as well as mobiletechnology as its main platforms.

With the universitys blendedmode of learning, students canstudy through weekend tutorials,independent study and online

forums.The e-learning tools

to support learningand the accessibility ofthe university librarythrough the Internetmake visits to thecentres unnecessary.

n For moreinformation,call 03-2773 2121,[email protected] or visitwww.oum.edu.my

R&Din universities


4/8

Corridors for growthand development

M ALAYSIAS ve economicdevelopment corr idorshave brought growth,nvestment and jobs into theountry.

Their concerted efforts areet to propel Malaysia to greater

heights and realise its vision ofbecoming a high-income nationby the year 2020. The East CoastEconomic Region (ECER) consists

of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahangnd Mersing in Johor, while theNorthern Corridor EconomicRegion (NCER) covers Perlis,Kedah, Penang and northernPerak.

The countrys southerndevelopment corridor, IskandarMalaysia in Johor, is divided intove agship zones and is theargest project to be undertakenn the region. In East Malaysia,here are the Sabah Development

Corridor (SDC) and SarawakCorridor of Renewable EnergySCORE). These corridors comeogether as promising platforms

with great investment anddevelopment potential, puttingMalaysia on the right track touccess.

skandar Malaysia

Spanning 2,217sq km,skandar Malaysia in Johor ispproximately three times theize of Singapore. It is the largestingle development project to

be undertaken in the region,with infrastructure such aspower utilities, transportationnetworks and broad-basedelecommunication networks.

Strategically located in theheart of Asia, Iskandar Malaysia isn the perfect position to tap into

Asias burgeoning global markets.This southern developmentorridor is developed by Iskandar

Regional Development Authority.The investment opportunities

n Iskandar Malaysia are focusedn the manufacturing, educationnd creative, tourism and healthare sectors. The key economic

drivers are divided into veagship zones, which are JohorBaru, Nusajaya, Senai-Skudai andhe Western and Eastern Gate

Developments.

Manufacturing

The vibrant petrochemicalndustry has attracted more than

RM28bil in investments, driven byskandars prime position in theentre of the oil and gas tradingoute.

More than 120 types ofdownstream products areupplied largely to export

markets.Petroleum terminals are

ocated in Pengerang, TanjungLangsat and Tanjung Bin, with

focus on the activities inPengerang Integrated PetroleumComplex (PIPC). The oil and gasndustry is set to make close to

RM20bil and create 12,600 jobsby 2020.

The electrical and electronicsector is also promising, withskandar Malaysia set to attract

high value-added activities in

enewable energy and aerospace,mong others.Food and agriculture is one of

he top ve invested sectors here,with food exports of more thanUS$6bil (RM20bil) to more than00 countries.

The development of Johorsgricultural sector with palm oil,

pineapple canning and expandingbiotechnology fuels the growth ofhis sector.


been identied for a number ofmajor industrial initiatives.

Projects in this cluster include: Pekan Automotive Park (PAP)

(Pahang) Focuses on high-valuemanufacturing that emphasisespremium and alternativetechnology vehicles.

Pasir Mas Halal Park(Kelantan) Produces high-valuedownstream halal food products,including nutraceuticals, herbs,spices and halal meat-basedproducts.

l Agriculture

The agriculture cluster is drivenby private sector investments,which are aimed at nurturingsustainability in the value chainfor crops, livestock and sheries.

The aim is to not only increaseproductivity and competitivenessbut to also deepen links with otherindustry sectors, venture into newareas, conserve and utilise naturalresources on a sustainable basis.

Projects in this cluster include: Cattle research and

innovation centre in MuadzamShah (Pahang) Focuses on theproduction of milk, research anddevelopment of dairy cattle and

l Education and creative

The increased demand forquality education will see morethan 200,000 internationalstudents in the country by 2020.In line with this, the governmentbacks Iskandar Malaysia asthe new education hub in thecountry. EduCity is a National KeyEconomic Area in Nusajaya withglobally recognised universitiescomprising top-notch academiaand facilities. The creative sectorhas also been identied as aneconomic pillar as Malaysia strivesto become Asias New CreativeDestination.

The Pinewood IskandarMalaysia Studios is a pioneeris a integrated creative hubbeing established in IskandarMalaysia, which is projected toattract RM1.9bil in internationalproductions and create more than11,000 freelance jobs by 2020.

l Tourism

Iskandar Malaysia aims toattract tourists from all over theworld with a focus on Singapore,given the proximity. The openingof the rst international themepark in Malaysia, Legoland,anchors the blossoming tourismsector in the region. The countryis poised to become Asias tourismand leisure destination, givenpromising increases in touristarrivals in recent years. Otherstrategic investments include the Johor Premium Outlets and PuteriHarbour Family Theme Park.

l Health care

The Malaysian health caresector is set to be transformedfrom a social service andconsumer wealth-centred

industry to a private sector-drivenengine for economic growth underthe Economic TransformationProgramme. Encouraging healthcare tourism rates in recent yearshave generated great revenue forthe country.

Iskandar Malaysia taps intothis by offering a cost-competitivelocation for investors intendingto set up offshore operations inthe health care sector. Strategic

investments include ColumbiaAsia Hospital in Aat Healthpark,Regency Specialist Hospital andGleneagles Medini Hospital.

The East Coast EconomicRegion

The East Coast EconomicRegion (ECER) of Malaysia coverstotal of 66,000sq km or 51% of thetotal area of Peninsular Malaysia.

Its socio-economicdevelopment is spearheaded bythe East Coast Economic RegionDevelopment Council (ECERDC).

The ECER offers rich naturalresources. It is fast becomingone of Malaysias most dynamiceconomic regions with diverseinvestment opportunities.

As of June this year, ECERhas seen a total investment ofRM68.85bil and the creation of71,000 jobs.

Investors can choose froma wide range of businessopportunities in the vekey economic clusters manufacturing; oil, gas andpetrochemicals; tourism;agriculture and human capitaldevelopment.l Tourism

The tourism initiative coversthree segments heritage andculture, urban and coastaltourism, and environmentand ecotourism, which offer vastopportunities for investors to growtheir businesses in the hospitalityand tourism-related industry.

Projects in this cluster include: Dungun town coastal tourism

development (Terengganu) Transforms this quiet shing towninto a mining heritage town.

Cherating coastal tourismdevelopment (Pahang) Develops

resorts and world-class touristfacilities within this popularcoastal retreat.

l Manufacturing

The rich resources in ECERenables the region to be acompetitive manufacturing playerwith abundant opportunities forinvestors.

Several locations in ECER have

the development of entrepreneurs. Multiplier and commercial

goat farm in Telaga Papan(Terengganu) An initiative tohelp increase the goat populationand meat production in the region.

l Human capital development

To achieve sustainable socio-economic development, severalhuman capital developmentprogrammes, each addressing thespecic needs of the region, arebeing implemented.

This ensures that the rakyatremains part of the socio-economic development of ECER.

Projects in this cluster include: empower ECER Involvescommunity empowerment viaacademic and skills trainingprogrammes. entrepreneur ECER Helpsentrepreneurs who want to growtheir business through severalinitiative and strategic partners.

l Oil, gas and petrochemical

The oil, gas and petrochemicalcluster centres at the KertihIntegrated Petrochemical Complex(KIPC) in Terengganu and theGebeng Integrated PetrochemicalComplex (GIPC), are both apart of the Petronas IntegratedPetrochemical complex.

KPIC focuses on ethylene-basedpetrochemicals and biopolymerproducts while GIPC concentrateson polypropylene-basedpetrochemicals, oil palm biomassand palm oil-based feedstockproducts.

Projects in this cluster include: Kertih Biopolymer Park

Focuses on renewable feedstockand energy sources to supportgreen technology industries.

Kuantan Integrated Biopark Promotes the growth ofdownstream industries relatedto food and health care anduses renewables as feedstock toproduce green products.

Danga Bay in Johor Baru is a favourite tourist destination.

There are plans to transform Dungun in Terengganu from a quiet fishing town into amining heritage town.

> TURN TO PAGE 6


5/8


Newcastle Disease Vaccine (NDV) is one of UPMs highest grossingcommercialisedinnovation.

Driving economicgrowth through innovation

T HE nation is focusing oncapitalising innovationas a prime driver ofconomic growth and Universitiutra Malaysia (UPM) playssignicant role in this. Theniversity is driven by policiesnd agenda with the goal toransform the research and ideasf its researchers into viableommercial ventures.

Propelled by an ecosystemhat is strategically placed byhe university, the number ofommercialised technologies hasrown signicantly. From the nineechnologies that were licensed tondustries in 2005, 78 have beencensed this year with a totalross sale of RM39.5mil.

Turning innovative ideas intouccessful commercial venturess a challenging process thatequires a team approach bynventors, universities, investorsnd business partners.

UPM approachesnnovation development andommercialisation in uniquend innovative ways byreating an ecosystem whereommercialisation collaborations guided by a focus on research,evelopment, commercialisationnd entrepreneurship.

The university provides aumber of services for researcherso protect their innovationiscoveries, including patentingnd promotion services. Thesere carried out to increase the

market value of the technologiesnd the quality and quantity ofnnovations entering the market.

To date, UPM has led morehan 1,600 intellectual propertyIP) protections and les morehan 100 IP protections every year.

The university was bestowedthe best organisation formanagement of intellectualproperty award at the AnugerahHarta Intelek Negara 2014(National Intellectual PropertyAward 2014) for the thirdtime since 2008. In the 2013Malaysian Research Assessment,UPM also came out on top forcommercialisation.

In nurturing potentialinnovations, the universityalso provides small amountsof funding of not more thanRM500,000 for technologyupscaling. Known as Initiative 7,it is specially designed for pre-commercialisation research and

prototype development at allstages from post-discovery to pre-commercialisation.

By establishing InnoHub, anincubation programme meantto increase the chances ofsuccessful commercialisationof innovations, the universityencourages researchers to ventureinto commercialising their owninnovations. Innohub focuses ontaking these innovations throughthe valley-of-death phase wheremost technologies fail to enter themarket.

As the countrys one and onlyinstitution of higher learningdedicated to agriculture, theuniversity has successfully

commercialised many agriculture-based innovation technologiesthat have signicantly impactedthe socio-economic growth of thecountry.

For instance, the NewcastleDisease Vaccine was inventedto ght a virus that attacks thedigestive, nervous and respiratorysystems of poultry. It contributedto the creation of the rst vaccine-producing company in Malaysia.

Another product produced bythe researchers at the universitysis Bacto 10, which is a liquidbiofertiliser with non-pathogenicmicro-organisms that have beenremoved from oil palm andherbal roots. Bacto 10 is capableof increasing the growth of plantsin an environmentally friendlymanner. It also maintains a viableshelf life of more than 15 monthsin bottles.

The Ministry of Agricultureawarded UPM and Diversatech, amanufacturer and wholesaler offertilisers, a three-year US$2.5mil(RM8.7mil) contract. Diversatechis required to supply a subsidisedpaddy seed treatment, knownas Zappa, to farmers to increasestheir farm yield.

To date, Zappa and Vita-Grow- a foliar fertiliser by Diversatechhave generated more than

RM26.3mil in gross sales.Recently, the Robo-rest

System, a system that is capableof increasing the productioncapacity of palm oil during oilprocessing, was commercialised toan international partner, DolphinEngineering. The system is theresult of a successful researchconducted by UPM researchers.The collaboration between UPMand international companiessuch as Dolphin Engineering hasassisted UPM in achieving itsvision to become a university ofinternational repute.

These are just some of themany examples of productsthat researchers at UPM haveproduced. These innovations willhelp establish the universitysposition as one of the leadingintuitions of higher learningwith prolic commercialisationventures.

To market its innovations,the university holds regularInnovation Open Days wheremajor players from variousindustries are invited to viewthe multitude of IPs available.During these events, prospectiveinvestors and businesses have theopportunity to have a one-to-oneengagement with researchers andtheir products.

R&Din universities


6/8


Burgeoning local opportunitiesSarawak Corridor ofRenewable EnergyThe Sarawak Corridor of

Renewable Energy (SCORE)s run and managed by The

Regional Corridor Development ofAuthority (RECODA). SCORE is theecond largest corridor in termsf land area and covers more than

0,000sq km encompassing vereas Samalaju, Tanjung Manis,Mukah, Baram and Tunoh.

SCORE has a coastline of about,000km, 8mil ha of forests andmil ha of land that is suitable forgriculture.

SCORE also has 1.2billiononnes of known oil reserves,

more than 80 million tonnes ofilica sand and more than 22

million tonnes of Kaolin of Chinalay. It also boasts an abundancef natural resources. The focusn energy will help the corridorrovide energy at a competitiveate. SCORE is expected to behe regions leading producer ofnexpensive energy by 2030.

In total, SCORE is expectedo create 1.6 million jobpportunities by 2030.

Samalaju

Launched in 2008, Samalaju isgreen eld site that is located in

he north western part of SCORE.It has the necessary

evelopment infrastructure suchs logistics, health, education,

water and housing, whichwill require an investment ofpproximately RM239mil.

Investors have committed aotal amount of RM28mil to theamalaju Industrial Park.

Tokuyamas polycrystallineilicon plant was opened athe Samalaju Industrial Park ineptember and has now created,000 full-time jobs. The Samalaju

Water Treatment Plant willroduce high-quality recycled

water and is expected to serve thearious industries in the Samalajundustrial Park where it is located.

Tanjung Manis

Located at the Rajang riverelta, Tanjung Manis is poisedo become the hub for SCOREsgriculture and aquaculturectivities. Accredited as a halalub by HALMAS in 2010, industrylayers and halal park operatorsere will now be able to qualifyor the incentives provided by the

Halal Development Corporation.

Mukah

Mukahs central locationwithin SCORE makes it the perfectocation to house RECODAsdministrative base. In the long

been realised.SEDIA has been accelerating

the states development andensuring that social developmentand sustainability remain keypriorities. SEDIA promotesprojects focusing on tourism, oiland gas, palm oil, agriculture,education, manufacturing andlogistics.

Some of the agship projectsunder SDC include the KinabaluGold Coast Enclave (KGCE), PalmOil Industrial Clusters (POICs),Integrated Livestock Valley(ILV) and Sabah Agro-IndustrialPrecinct (SAIP).

KGCE stretches about 100kmfrom the state capital of KotaKinabalu to the northwesterntip of Kudat covering 78.5sqkm of prime coastal tourismdevelopment that will includebeaches and coastal assets toattract eco-adventure tourists,second-home buyers and luxuryholiday visitors.

As one of the largest palm oilproducing nations in the world, itis no surprise that the industry ispart of the SDC initiatives.

Lahad Datu and Sandakanare the focus for the POICs. Thetwo locations are set to featurebiodiesel plants, liquid cargo jetty,port for import-export activitiesand waste treatment systems.

Sabah will also boast the largestlivestock cattle farm in Malaysiawith the eventual completion ofthe ILV that is expected to producesix million litres of milk annuallyfrom 2,000 cattle. The rst phaseof this project has been completed.

The SDC will also aid Sabahto emerge as a centre for agro-biotechnology through SAIP.The SAIP will produce specialityproducts from pharmaceuticaland food ingredients to cosmeticsand industrial enzymes.

The area will also featurea dedicated Halal Park.Other government-industrycollaborations and projectsunder SDC include the SandakanEducation Hub, Sapangar BayManufacturing and Logistics

Cluster, Sipitang Oil and GasIndustrial Park, Marine IntegratedCluster, and Greater Kota Kinabalu.

The vision for Sabah is to be avibrant, economically successfuland liveable state and hints ofthese are already apparent.

The states tourism sectorreects the positive development recording a 2.8% increase in thenumber of visitors as of July thisyear to 1.89 million visitors.

economic sectors, a thrivingbusiness culture and severallarge multinational corporationswith their global networks andmarkets.

NCER also aims to further

augment its manufacturingsector by setting up concreteimplementation structures todeliver initiatives under thefederal governments EconomicTransformation Plan.

Moving forward towards theimplementation of Phase 2 ofNCERs development, the NCIA iscontinuously ne-tuning aspectsof the regions economy to retaina competitive advantage in themanufacturing sector.

l Tourism

NCER plays a big role inMalaysias success as a leadingtourist destination, as it has a richheritage of natural attractions,culture and cuisine, as well ashealth care and wellness services.

The regions biodiversity is a bigtourist draw. The regions tourismofferings have been scaled up andthere are many opportunities toenhance revenue and create moreeconomic activities in this sector.

l Logistics

NCERs strategic location withinthe Indonesia-Malaysia-ThailandGrowth Triangle gives it theopportunity to become a majorprocessing centre and entrepotport.

The region already has a well-established logistics ecosystemand linkages, and for the past 40years has been a key enabler ofthe manufacturing sector as wellas the tourism and agricultureindustries.

The key infrastructure thatsupports NCERs connectivityis made up of an internationalairport, an international port, theNorth South Expressway and anextensive road network.

NCER has seen infrastructureenhancements in the form ofthe second Penang bridge andexpansion of the Bayan LepasAirport Passenger Terminal, andwill see further developmentthrough the Ipoh-Padang BesarElectried Double-Trackingproject.l Education

The Education and HumanCapital Development Plan forNCER is in line with the federalgovernments 10th MalaysiaPlan in terms of placing anemphasis on the development ofsoft infrastructure such as skillsdevelopment.

The NCIAs objectives in theeducation sector are to:

Support the key industriesin the region by enhancing andbroadening the skills base of theregions human capital.

Enhance the skills set and

employability of human capital inthe region to meet the needs ofthe private sector in agriculture,manufacturing, tourism andlogistics.

Increase the number ofresearch and development-based activities among hi-techcompanies.

Enable rural communitiesto participate in the regionsdevelopment agenda.

Located at the Rajang river delta, Tanjung Manis is poised to become SCOREs agriculture and aquaculture hub.

abah will also boast the largest livestock cattle farm in Malaysia when thentegrated Livestock Valley is complete.

> FROM PAGE 4

term, Mukah will become a smartcity that focuses on resource-based research and developmentand also industrial research tohelp sustain SCOREs growth.

To cater to the research anddevelopment requirement ofthe private sector, the MukahBiotech Economic Zone will beestablished. In tandem withMukahs rapid growth, work isalready underway to upgrade theMukah airport.

The upgrade of the airport isexpected to increase employment,tourism and economic growth inMukah. The airport is scheduledfor completion in 2018 at a cost ofRM600mil.

Sabah DevelopmentCorridor

In 2008, the-then PrimeMinister Datuk Seri AbdullahAhmad Badawi introduced anew high-income service-basedeconomic model to enhance thequality of life of the people inSabah.

Today, investments underthe Sabah DevelopmentCorridor (SDC), carried out by itsimplementation authority, theSabah Economic Developmentand Investment Authority(SEDIA), continue to be realisedand investment momentum isexpected to get more vibrant.

As of August this year,RM1.45bil or 82.8% of the totalfederal government fundingallocated for SDC projects hasbeen disbursed. Meanwhile,RM135bil worth of cumulativeinvestments have been plannedand committed since its launchin 2008 of which RM45bil have

By 2025, the SDC initiativewill triple Sabahs gross domesticproduct (GDP) per capita andincrease its GDP by four times andcreate more than 900,000 new jobs.

Northern CorridorEconomic Region

The northernmost ofMalaysias ve economicregions, the Northern CorridorEconomic Region is overseenby the Northern CorridorImplementation Authority (NCIA),which was established in 2008.Currently, NCER leverages on theexisting economic achievementsof the region in electronics,tourism and agriculture.

l Agriculture

The NCIA aims to revitalisethe regions agriculture sectorto the point where it is able tomeet both domestic and exportdemands. This will not only raisethe sectors output but also elevatethe living standards of the regionsfarming communities. To aid inthis transformation, an integratedsupport system has been put intoplace, augmented by the NCIAbiotechnology centre.

The NCIAs agricultureobjectives for the NCER are:

Leading the transformationof Malaysias agriculture sectorby adopting commercial-scalefarming and the latest farmingtechnologies

Increasing the export ofpremium agricultural products

Contributing to Malaysiasself-sufficiency objectives in staplefoods

Cultivating new commercialcrops and promoting downstreamactivities in agriculture

l Manufacturing

Manufacturing makes up alarge part of Malaysias grossdomestic product.

In the ve years of NCERs

Phase 1 of development, the NCIAsmain priority has been to set upthe necessary support structuresto further strengthen the regionsmanufacturing capabilities.

In these past 40 years,technology and engineering-basedactivities in NCER have evolvedso that the region now possessesa large and educated workforce,a vast and sophisticated logisticsnetwork to support the key


7/8


Platform to support start-upsT HE University of Malaya iscommitted to building anentrepreneurial ecosystemhat will accelerate the increasingmpact of its research andevelopment in its application

n society, provide solutionso industries as well as opennvestment opportunities inutting-edge technologies.

The consolidated strategyf outcome-based researchlusters, high-impact researchnd the University of Malaya

Grand challenges has created anncreased focus on an interactivend integrative platform, withndustries and society playing keyoles in inuencing applied andundamental research directions.

UM has also taken the leadn proactively generating androtecting its intellectualroperty with a renewedmphasis on rapid licensing tondustries and providing strategicpenings for investments in theatest technological advancementshrough the creation ofechnology and intellectualapacity-driven universitytartups.

Since it achieved researchniversity status, UM has giveneed to a growing number of newtartups by academic founders inechnology areas that range from

machine fabrication (Zecttrondn Bhd), engineering, powernd optical solutions (Globalnsignia Sdn Bhd, Integrated

Transportation Solutions Sdn Bhd,MUOS Optical Solutions Sdn Bhd),

biotechnologyand greentechnology(Semio TechnologySdn Bhd, NanobioSdn Bhd, My-EzfuelSdn Bhd) and biomedicaland pharmaceuticaltechnologies (BioApps Sdn Bhd,UMMH Medical Home Sdn Bhd,CBMTI Sdn Bhd, Oleopharma SdnBhd).

Zecttron Sdn Bhd was foundedby Prof Dr Hamdi Abd Shukor.It successfully developed andcommercialised its AutomaticThermocyclic Dipping Machine(ATDM) and CNC Lathe UML-V1through a series of progressivefunding, including the value chainfrom science fund, Technofundand MTDC grant under(commercialisation or researchand development fund) CRDF1and it is now looking to expand itsmarkets regionally.

The Centre for Biomedical andTechnology Integration (CBMTI)is a biomedical company foundedby two surgeons Prof DrVickneswaran Mathaneswaranand Prof Datuk Dr Zainal Ariff

Abdul Rahman to focus onspeciality 3D biomodelling andproduct design to develop m ouldsfor customised titanium implantsfor cranial and maxillofacialreconstruction, spine biomodels,frame biomodels, biomodelswith slotters and maxillofacialbiomodels.

Their most recent innovationis MEDCOM OR, a medicalcommunication system foroperating rooms designed andconceived by the surgeon foundersof the company.

The mission of BioApps Sdn Bhdis to be a global leader in the eldof prosthetics and orthotics andhas licenses in both internationaland local patents.

Led by founder Prof Ir Dr NoorAzuan Osman, it aims to be a key

centre for biomedical engineeringindustry development in an effortto assist and improve the life of itsclients.

The most recent additionsto the stable are two new spin-

off companies both helmed bywomen academic founders.Cytus Sdn Bhd by Dr Ivy Chung

and Granatech Sdn Bhd by Prof DrNorzulaani Khalid and Mahanom Jalil.

Cytus Sdn Bhd is a Cell Biobank-based company that aims todevelop a repository of humancells produced from a range ofhealthy and diseased tissue andrepresenting, in cellular terms,the ethnic genetic diversity of theMalaysia population.

Granatech Sdn Bhd focuses onResearch Contract and KnowledgeTransfer services in the area ofPlant Tissue Culture with theproduction of customised ondemand starter cultures andgrowth media.

Other upcoming start ups towatch out for include one thatprovides specialty and innovativesilica-based optical bre solutionsto its customers, running the onlyoptical bre drawing tower facilityin the region.

The optical bres fabricatedinclude conventional optical bres,PCFs, FFs and a number of custom-designed bres.

Another will commercialise itsnanocatalyst capabilities and itsrst roll-out is a Nano MagnetiteSlurry that has seen applicationsin the glove industry.

Meet all these start-upspersonally and more at USTARTMalaysia 2015 from January20-21 next year at the PullmanKuala Lumpur Bangsar.

The event aims to

drive innovation andcommercialisation of researchresults through the establishmentof start-ups companies andcarries the theme creatingeconomic and social impactthrough university startups.

The inaugural University StartUp Conference Malaysia 2015or USTART2015 organised byUniversity of Malaya throughUMCIC (UM Centre of Innovationand Commercialization) willshowcase technology startups, provide interactive paneldiscussions from experts inuniversity tech transfer, createnetworking and investormatching opportunitiesand allow for exchange ofbest practices for researchcommercialisation.

Eminent speakers includeDatuk Prof Asma Ismail, directorof higher education and auniversity start up pioneerherself, Dr Lily Chan CEO NUSEnterprise, Tom Hockaday MD ofISIS Enterprise Oxford University,startup founders from Malaysianand International Universitiesand supporting agencies ,including MTDC, MBC, MDV,Platcom Ventures and MVCA.

n For more information, visitumcic.um.edu.my

The CNC Lathe Machineis the innovation ofDr Noor Azizi Mardi,senior lecturer atthe Departmentof Mechanical

Engineering,Universiti Malaya.

R&Din universities


8/8

THE STAR Saturday 13 December 2014 StarSpecial

invest malaysia - 13 december 2014

Documents