IPOH: Perak has recorded RM2.036 billion worth of investments in the manufacturing and services sector in the first and second quarters of this year.
Perak Investment, Industrial and Corridor Development Committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said he hoped the state would attract at least RM2 billion worth of investment in the third and fourth quarters.
“This statistic was provided by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida). We believe that the state will continue to attract investments in the second half of this year to breach the RM3 billion mark.
“Between January and June, RM1.724 billion worth of investments were recorded, which comprised RM951.54 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) and RM772.81 million in domestic investment.
“For the same period, the investments received by the state involved 22 projects in the manufacturing sector and 30 in the services sector,” he said.
Nizar said this at a press conference on the Perak International Expo 2019 (PIEX) at his office in Bangunan Perak Darul Ridzuan here recently.
PIEX, which aims to promote Perak as a trade and investment hub for foreign countries, as well as a hub for business expansion, runs from Nov 14 to 17 at the Indera Mulia Stadium here.
Nizar said the plastic products manufacturing industry was one of the main contributors with RM762.1 million worth of investment followed by the electric and electronic sector, which contributed RM506.3 million in investment.
“The rubber production and vehicle spare parts manufacturing industries contributed RM201.9 million and RM187.9 million worth of investments with 827 jobs created.
“The growth is due to the higher demand for the manufacturing of plastic products and the introduction of 5G technologies,” he added.
He said more foreign companies were expanding their operations in the state, such as Murata Electronic (M) Sdn Bhd which had invested about RM460 million to build new facilities.
“The Japan-based company is at the Bemban Industrial Area in Batu Gajah here and is the producer of power inductor and EMI suppression filter. With the expansion, the company is expected to boost economic development and create more jobs for locals.
“The vehicle spare parts manufacturing industry recorded an investment growth due to the expansion of Proton Holdings Bhd in Muallim.
“The company sold 64,744 cars last year compared with 61,396 cars between January and August this year.”
Nizar said Mida had projected that export revenue for rubber gloves would reach RM19.88 billion this year, up from the RM18.8 billion estimated by industrial players last year.
“The global demand for rubber gloves is estimated to reach 300 billion gloves this year, with an expected annual growth of 12 per cent, according to the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association.
“It said out of the total, 188 billion gloves would be produced by Malaysia, which is the world’s largest producer and leading exporter of rubber gloves, contributing 63 per cent of global supply, followed by Thailand (18 per cent), China (10 per cent) and Indonesia (three per cent),” he said.
He said for next year, the state was expecting better growth in investment due to the state’s proactive approach in rebuilding the Perak Hi-Tech Industrial Park in
Kanthan near here.
“With the trade war between China and the United States, we will take this opportunity to invite more foreign companies to come and expand their operations in Perak.”