Acknowledgement
 
YB Dato’ Seri Ong Ka Chuan
Second Minister of International Trade and Industry
 
Puan Sharimaton Mat Salleh
Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE)
 
Dr. Juergen Schloesser
Chairman of PSDC Management Council
 
Mr Muhamed Ali Hajah Mydin
Chief Executive Officer
Penang Skill Development Centre (PSDC)
Members of the Media
 
Distinguished Guests,
 
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
Good morning. I am pleased to welcome all of you to the Supply Chain Conference for the Northern Region, co-organised by Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and Penang Skills Development Centre (PSDC). We are honoured to have Dato’ Seri Ong Ka Chuan to grace our event and officiate this conference today.
 
While our inaugural Supply Chain Conference was held at the national level in MITI last year, we decided to present this year’s Conference at both the national and regional levels – looking at each region’s economic drivers as the focus areas. In fact, this is already the second Regional Conference for this year, after our first successful Conference held in Kuantan two months ago, that covered the Eastern region.
 
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
As the principal investment promotion agency of the country, MIDA has been facilitating investments from MNCs from all over the world into Malaysia. To date, more than 5,000 MNCs have chosen Malaysia as their preferred investment destination in the region. These MNCs continue to make significant contributions which include the development of our local companies.
 
From 1980 to 2016, MIDA has approved a total of 28,907 manufacturing projects. Of which, more than 70% have been implemented with total investments of RM692.3 billion. These projects have created more than 2.2 million jobs for the nation, opening doors for spill over benefits to be enjoyed by local businesses and the overall economy.
 
Despite the challenging global economic landscape, Malaysia’s manufacturing sector continued to sustain its growth momentum last year. In 2016, MIDA approved a total of 733 manufacturing projects with investments of RM58.5 billion.
 
Of the total approved investments, RM10.4 billion or 18% was contributed by the states in the Northern Region. 55% of these investments were from foreign sources, while the balance of RM4.7 billion were from domestic sources.
 
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
Today’s conference is part of MIDA’s on-going efforts to foster collaboration between multinational corporations (MNCs) and local businesses towards achieving inclusive and balanced growth.
 
With the theme ‘Accelerating the Adoption of Industry 4.0’, the Northern Region was chosen to host MIDA’s second Regional Supply Chain Conference as this region is synonymous with being the semiconductor and electrical & electronics hub of Malaysia.
 
The strong presence of many multinational companies located here and the very fact that some of the big names here such as First Solar, Infineon, Osram, B. Braun, Bosch and Inari in Kedah and Penang have already migrated to Industry 4.0, hold much promise for business collaboration and opportunities within this region.
 
With Industry 4.0 upon us, we are seeing globalisation and emergence of new technologies changing the traditional value chains and the way businesses are conducted.
 
As we transform to take Malaysia’s economy into the future, there is now more intense competition, not just with developing countries, but developed countries as well.
 
The profile of workforce will also change in tandem with Industry 4.0. For example, critical Industry 4.0 jobs such as data managers and scientists, software developers and analytics experts will require different skillsets from those that most industrial workers possess today.
 
To compete successfully, companies do not only need to align themselves towards the same direction by adopting automation, robotics and other smart technologies, but also to close skills gap by retraining the workforce and tapping the pool of digital talent.
 
Through this Conference, we will take an in-depth look at Industry 4.0 focusing on the Supply Chain Development and Opportunities. I am pleased have the presence of PSDC’s Industry 4.0 Expert, Mr. Azhar Md. Nayan to moderate our plenary session after this. I believe with his vast experience in Industry 4.0, he is well positioned to bring relevant and useful insights in further assisting MNCs to connect with our local companies/SMEs. We would also like to thank our guest panelists from Broadcom, B. Braun, Siemens and Inari for their support and participation at this event.
 
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
We would like to encourage the industry players present today to take advantage of this platform and explore opportunities to not only participate in these companies’ supply chain, but to also emulate their best practices, particularly in adopting the Industry 4.0.
 
We trust that this conference will open the right doors for you to form mutually beneficial strategic partnerships between both parties. I am optimistic that the fruitful relations forged here will pave the way for further growth of domestic investments in the country and will serve as a catalyst for the development of supply chains between MNCs and SMEs in Malaysia, particularly in the Northern Region.
 
MITI with MIDA and other agencies will continue to work closely with the state government and authorities to provide a more conducive business environment.
 
On that note, I wish you all a productive session ahead. Thank you.
 
SOURCE : Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Name : En. Ahmad Tajudin Omar
Director, Domestic Investment Division, MIDA
Tel.: 03-2267 3627 
Email: tajudin@mida.gov.my 
 
--BERNAMA