US FIRMS INVITED TO INVEST IN MALAYSIA'S TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN INDUSTRIES

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 11 (Bernama) -- American firms are welcome to further
invest in Malaysia, especially in technology-driven industries, that can help
boost the country's growth in line with the government's drive to move up the
high-income economy ladder by 2020.

Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) chairman Dr Sulaiman
Mahbob said over the years American investors in Malaysia had continued to show
their strong confidence and commitment to their investments in the country.

This was reflected in their significant re-investments in expansion and
diversification of higher-valued technologies and research and development
(R&D) that required less labour-intensive projects, he said.

"Malaysia is now on a higher plane of industrialisation as its current focus
is on attracting quality investments that are of high technology,
capital-intensive operations, incorporating activities such as design and
development and R&D," he said when addressing Californian businessmen on the
second leg of the trade and investment mission to the US.

Dr Sulaiman said California was the largest manufacturing centre in the US
and that its new economy was largely technology-driven.

"Given that Silicon Valley and San Francisco's strengths are in these
particular areas, there is huge potential for business collaborations between
business from this region and Malaysia.

"I am also keen to see Malaysian companies emulate the success of companies
in California in becoming global players in high technology innovation," he
said.

Among key sectors US firms could invest in Malaysia are advanced
electronics; information and communications technlogy (ICT); renewable and
alternative energy (solar); aerospace industry; medical devices; biotechnology;
and pharmaceuticals.

In advanced electronics, Dr Sulaiman said US firms are currently involved in
the production of higher-end and higher value-added electronic products in the
country.

"Malaysia would like American companies to further invest in various
activities such as wafer fabrication, probing and testing, integrated circuit
designs and testing and silicon wafer processing," he said.

He said strong industrial expertise and research culture would also give
American firms the opportunity in various ICT areas in Malaysia including
telecommunications equipment; voice/pattern/vision recognition or synthesis
equipment; next generation network; and digital equipment and system.

Among major American companies already operating in the ICT industry in
Malaysia are Dell, Intel, Motorola and Microsoft.

Dr Sulaiman said they could also take advantage of the incentives the
Malaysian Government had put in place to attract investments such as the
conducive environment in the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC).

Firms approved with MSC status are given special fiscal and non-fiscal
incentives including tax holiday for 10 years, he said.

The promoted activities in MSC are R&D, contact centre, technical support
centres, electronic-commerce, data centres and digital content development.

On renewable energy, Dr Sulaiman asked firms around the California region to
participate in the development of solar industry cluster which was fast growing
in Malaysia.

Citing companies like Honeywell Aerospace Services, General Electric and AAR
Corp, he also welcomed others to participate in the aerospace industry, given
its strategic importance and the urgency for its rapid development in Malaysia.

Dr Sulaiman said there was vast opportunities in Malaysia for US investments
in the "high-end" medical equipment sector, particularly in the manufacture of
more advanced devices to cater for the local market, Asean and even the US as
well as other global markets.

He said medical devices was one of the priority sectors identified for
promotion and further development given the gowing demand.

"There is a strong presence of established supporting industries ranging
from sterilisation services, sterile medical packaging, precision engineering
and tool and die making to contract moulding and assembly and machinery
fabrication in Malaysia.

"These supporting industries position Malaysia as an ideal hub for the
manufacture of, and trade in, medical devices within Asia," he said.

Dr Sulaiman said the government was also aggressively promoting
boiotechnology in Malaysia and the priority areas identified for development
include food and agro-biotech; biopharmaceuticals (anti-body and vaccines);
nutraceuticals; and environmental/industrial biotech.

"American companies can invest in these sectors either on their own or in
collaboration with Malaysian firms, universities or venture capitals," he said.

As for pharmaceuticals industry, Dr Sulaiman said it had high growth
potential in Malaysia, both for the domestic and export markets.

He noted that R&D efforts in this sector would focus on Malaysia's extensive
biodiversity and local knowledge in traditional or complementary medicine to
develop leads for the pharmaceutical and mutraceutical industries.

American pharmaceutical firms could take advantage of invstment
opportunities in innovator drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients, vaccines,
inhalation products and novel delivery systems, he added.
-- BERNAMA