LAUNCHING OF GBS@ MAYANG

SPEECH BY CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG

AT THE LAUNCHING OF GBS@ MAYANG

7 April 2017
Atrium Mayang Mall, Bayan Baru

A very good morning to everyone. It gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you here today for today's launch of our ‘GBS@Mayang’.

‘GBS@Mayang’ marks an important milestone in the Government’s continuing efforts in creating higher value jobs for the Rakyat, leveraging on Penang as an international & intelligent city as well as a destination of choice for investors.

PENANG’S GLOBAL BUSINESS SERVICES (GBS) ECOSYSTEM

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Penang State Government’s strategy will further enhance the 3rd wave of development of the services sector, encompassing GBS/SSO, BPO, Research & Development (R&D), Design & Development (D&D), and advanced manufacturing. While the manufacturing sector continues to grow, many have since diversified in terms of manufacturing activities as well as other services. Many companies, led by the numerous MNCs here, have expanded from the manufacturing base to include global business services.

According to Outsourcing Malaysia (OM), Malaysia’s GBS Sector will see a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10%-15% for the next five years. Locally, in the recently announced Malaysia Investment Performance 2016 by Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Penang received the second largest investments for Global Establishments for Services or ‘Principal Hub’ after Kuala Lumpur with an investment value of RM4.1 billion.

Penang currently hosts a vibrant GBS community with an estimated 50 GBS companies providing more than 8,000 high income jobs to locals, serving both regional and global markets. Job opportunities are expected to grow in tandem with new investments in this sector.

Only 2 months ago, Switzerland based leader in high-end automotive solutions, Luxoft, launched their first ever Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Asia in Penang. The CoE will offer more than 500 IT/software development engineers in Penang in the next 5 years, investing RM235 million in human capital and technology. The CoE will further develop the automotive software/IT ecosystem in Penang as well as complementing the existing cluster e.g. Bosch, Continental, Clarion and Malaysia Automotive Lighting (MAL).

GBS@PENANG & GBS@MAYANG>

Ladies & Gentlemen,

The huge growth potential of the GBS industry needs a conducive business environment in order for this sector to flourish. In a move to house new & expanding knowledge driven companies in Penang, the State will be spending RM10 million to refurbish this building to turn it into a GBS Centre for investors. The refurbishment works will include major facelift of the building facade, improvement of shared facilities and most importantly, infrastructure upgrades in line with MDeC’s MSC Malaysia Cybercentre standards.

An approximate total of 110,000 square feet of MSC Malaysia Cybercentre office space will be made available once the building is completed in January 2018. In addition to infrastructure, this building is already centrally located in the heart of Bayan Baru’s business district with good connectivity, where the majority of our GBS/SSO players and more than 200 MSC Malaysia companies are housed in the Penang Cyber City. Penang is 2nd after Klang Valley hosting the most number of MSC Malaysia Status companies in Malaysia.

GBS@Mayang is in fact part of the State’s master development plan to offer conducive enterprise space and environment for investors and supporting talents worldwide. Phase 2 development plan, tentatively called ‘GBS by the Sea’, at Bayan Lepas Phase 4 will follow soon.

LIVABILITY & WORK-LIFE BALANCE TO RESIDENTS

Ladies & Gentlemen,

As the 2nd largest city in Malaysia, Penang continues to attract global talents with job opportunities, offering sustainable living with a balance lifestyle. Only recently, CNN ranked Penang as No. 2 out of the ‘Top 17th tourist destination for 2017’ whereas 2 weeks ago, our very own Gurney Drive made it to the 13th spot on the list of ‘25 best streets in the world for tourists to visit around the world before you die’ by well-known Australian travel resource, ‘Traveller’.

In a nutshell, Penang is a place where you can do business, create great products, deliver great services, make money, and at the same time enjoy a desirable lifestyle. You will also find a government with strong & transparent leadership, committed to improve the lives of the people here.

On that note, I am pleased to launch the upgrading works of ‘GBS@Mayang’ and wish all you a pleasant day ahead.

Thank you.