Selangor aiming for higher Taiwanese investments in key industries

Selangor, the "golden" state for investments in Malaysia, is aiming to further advance Taiwanese investments in the halal, life sciences and E-commerce industries.

Invest Selangor Chief Executive Officer Hasan Azhari Idris said Taiwan is one of the top five sources of foreign direct investments in Selangor and has to date invested more than RM4.2 billion in the state.

"In 2015, Taiwanese corporations invested more than RM1.2 billion in Malaysia, and Selangor attracted about three per cent of that total in terms of actual value of investments," Hasan said during the 2016 Malaysia Selangor-Taiwan Business Summit in Taipei recently.

He was addressing the 700 participants comprising mainly Taiwanese small and medium enterprises and e-commerce community.

Hasan said there are still many Taiwanese investors who are unfamiliar with the business ecosystem in Selangor and what it can offer them.

"Selangor ranked number two in Malaysia in terms of investment for global establishments for the services sector in 2015 at RM1.6 billion," he added.

Hasan noted that while the land cost may be more expensive in Selangor compared to other states, it has managed to be a magnet for investors based on competitive advantages.

They include developed infrastructure, talent pool, strategic location in being linked to airports and ports that are on par with international counterparts and sustainable economic growth.

He emphasised that Selangor stands out for its halal Centre among multinationals.

With a contribution of about 23.7 per cent to Malaysia’s gross domestic product and eight promoted industrial parks, he said, Selangor is set to be the economic powerhouse with a focus on five core clusters, namely life sciences, food and beverage, electrical and electronics, transport equipment as well as machinery and equipment.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive of the Selangor Information Technology & E-Commerce Council, Yong Kai Ping said Taiwan can provide expertise in new emerging economic sectors such as usage of technology and customer service, particularly e-commerce trading and to track consumer behaviour or trends which Malaysia is lacking.

"We have a close relationship with the e-commerce community in Taiwan and are working with incubators there," he said in an interview with the Malaysian media on the sidelines of the summit.

Yong emphasised that the Taiwanese are now looking at Southeast Asia as a blue ocean market and Selangor can be an ideal platform as a springboard for entry into the region.

"They find it easier to adapt to the Malaysian market compared to other countries in the region due to a the similarity in terms of culture.

"While Taiwanese investors have been eyeing the Southeast Asia market for almost two years, there were no concrete plans yet, due to a lack of eco-system and market information to facilitate business," he said.

Yong said this involved the need for support in logistics and marketing, as well as a synchronised payment system and platform to enable merchants to access products.