Kuantan, May 23 – More than 150 participants from various MNCs, large local companies and SMEs attended the Supply Chain Conference for the East Coast Region held at Sultan Ahmad Shah International Convention Centre (SASICC), Kuantan yesterday.
The conference is one of MIDA’s on-going initiatives to further stimulate domestic economic activities and create a robust environment for businesses to thrive.
The event was officiated by the Chief Minister of Pahang, Datuk Seri Amar Diraja Haji Adnan Haji Yaakob. Also present was Datuk N. Rajendran, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and the Chairman of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) Eastern Branch, Datuk Haji Mas’ut A. Samah.
During his speech, the Chief Minister of Pahang said, “Among the east coast region, Pahang is the second highest recipient of implemented investments in the manufacturing sector after Terengganu. As at December 2016, a total of 413 manufacturing projects were implemented. These were worth RM27.8 billion and have created more than 44,940 jobs for the state.”
“Recognising that a strong and comprehensive ecosystem promotes greater flow of trade and investment, the state government is stepping up our infrastructure development to ensure effective and efficient service delivery. This includes the Kuantan Port expansion – the New Deep Water Terminal (NDWT), Tanjong Agas Oil & Gas, and Logistics Industrial Park and the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP). Beyond Pahang, we look forward to the establishment of the East Coast Railway Line (ECRL) that will connect the east and west coasts of Peninsular Malaysia and further spur the growth of businesses in the region,” the Chief Minister added.
Datuk N. Rajendran at the event said, “Making Malaysia’s transition to a high income economy for the future of our country has become the main priority and all our government’s policies are driven by this overall objective. Recognising that globalisation and emergence of new technologies are changing the way businesses are conducted, the Government has identified necessary measures to align local companies and SMEs to this phenomenon. “
“MIDA would like to encourage the industry players to take advantage of this platform and explore outsourcing opportunities in the multinational companies’ supply chain and also emulate these companies’ best practices, particularly in adopting the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0.”
“The East Coast Region contributed RM3.5 billion to the total approved investments in the manufacturing sector in 2016. More than half or 61% of these investments were from foreign sources, while the balance of RM1.4 billion were from domestic sources. Given the ecosystem that has been put in place in this region, there is much potential for growth, particularly in the automotive, chemical, oil & gas services, machinery & metal as well as transport industries,” added Datuk N. Rajendran.
Kuantan has been chosen as the first venue to cater for the East Coast region in MIDA’s series of Regional Supply Chain conferences that will be held nationwide throughout this year. This one day event featured plenary sessions on the oil & gas services, petrochemical and automotive industries. The key speakers were from Ahmad Zaki Resources Berhad (AZRB), BASF PETRONAS Chemicals and HICOM Automotive Manufacturers.