R&D Projects Worth US$562.02 Million Approved Since 1995: MIDA

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) approved 167 research and development (R&D) projects with a total investment of US$562.06 million (RM2.27 billion) from 1995, said Chief Executive Officer Azman Mahmud. He said the projects were mainly in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, healthcare, machinery, electrical and electronics, automotive, energy, medical devices, palm-oil and food production industries. "Notable projects include the service on tele-radiology in tele-medicine for the healthcare sector, formulation of active pharmaceutical ingredients for generic pharmaceuticals and development of integrated nano-layered stretch films for industrial packaging materials. "These projects created about 5,355 quality job opportunities, mostly in the science and technical fields," he said in his remarks at the "Funding Research on a Changing Landscape" conference here Wednesday. Also present was the Science Advisor to the Prime Minister, Professor Emeritus Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid. Given the fast changing industrial landscape, Azman urged Malaysian companies to reassess and realign their business strategies to adapt to the current challenges. He said intensifying innovation through strategic collaboration in R&D activities is one of the key components to enable businesses to remain competitive and sustainable. "By strengthening the innovation ecosystem, we will develop a conducive environment to foster trust among all stakeholders. This, in turn, will contribute to higher value R&D activities and increased spending in the sector. "It will ultimately cement Malaysia's position as the high technology hub for R&D, design and development testing and technical support centre and Centre of Excellence," Azman added. He cited Malaysia's R&D intensity currently stood at 1.13 per cent, which is a relatively low figure when contrasted with the top five most research-intensive countries, namely Korea (4.29 per cent), Israel (4.11 per cent), Japan (3.59 per cent), Sweden (3.16 per cent), and Finland (3.17 per cent). MIDA is the government's principal agency for the promotion of the manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia. --BERNAMA