The Signing Ceremony Between Aspen Group and Marriott International Inc.

Speech by Chief Minister of Penang
At The Signing Ceremony Between Aspen Group and Marriott International Inc.

2 February 2019
Aspen Sales Gallery, Aspen Vision City

 

•YB Dato Ir Ahmad Zakiyuddin Bin Abdul Rahman, Deputy Chief Minister I of Penang
• YB Prof Dr Ramasamy, Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang
• YB Dr. Afif Bin Bahardin, State Exco for Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Rural Development and Health
• YB Kasthuriraani Patto, MP of Batu Kawan
• YB Goh Choon Aik, Assemblyman of Bukit Tambun
• Mr. Kevin Chen, Senior Vice-President of Marriott International Inc., Hotel Development, Asia Pacific
• Mr. Andree Susilo, the Director of Marriott International Inc. Hotel Development, Asia Pacific
• Dato’ Seri Nazir Ariff, Executive Director of Aspen Group
• Dato’ M. Murly, President & Chief Executive Officer of Aspen Group
• Dato’ Finn Choong, Independent Non-Executive Director of Aspen Group
• Mr. Lee Peng Cheong, Executive Director of Aspen Group
• Dato' Sr Hj Rozali bin Hj Mohamud, President of Seberang Perai Municipal Council
• Dato' Loo Lee Lian, CEO of InvestPenang
• Members of the Press, and
• Distinguished Guests.

Good Morning.

I am pleased to be here to witness the Signing Ceremony Between Aspen Group and Marriott International Inc. This marks another significant milestone by Aspen Group through this Agreement Signing Ceremony today and providing a further boost to the development of Batu Kawan, as well as to the growth of Penang. The decision by Marriott to be at Batu Kawan also reinforces the confidence of investors towards Penang. My heartiest congratulations to both Aspen and Marriott.

Aspen Group is well-known for its courage to heed the call of Penang Development Corporation (PDC) to transform Batu Kawan, which was once a hinterland, into the third satellite city of Penang after Bayan Baru and Seberang Jaya. The idea for the development of Batu Kawan is based on the concept of ‘live, work, play’. Many MNCs, local large companies and SMEs as well as SMIs have established their presence in Batu Kawan Industrial Park. Some of these companies are Broadcom, SanDisk, HP, Boston Scientific, Jabil, Flex, Haemonetics, Honda, Vitrox, QDos and UWC. The latest announcement is by Micron to establish their Centre of Excellence for SSD with an investment of RM1.5 billion.

Aspen took the call by investing on a 245-acre of land in this township to create an intelligently integrated city. The city was quickly transformed into the first smart-city in the making and made headlines through the joint-venture partnership with IKEA Southeast Asia.

In line with its vision of developing Batu Kawan into an iconic hub of the Northern region of Malaysia, I am pleased to note that many new projects and brands were introduced by Aspen Group. Now, the Group is making headlines again by its introduction of the first International Business-Class Hotel in Batu Kawan.

I believe that this hotel by Mariott will set to further enhance the tourism industry in Batu Kawan, where tourism industry has always been a major contributor to Penang economic growth. Penang has always welcomed industry players and investors around the world for the betterment of the state. So, it is not only a proud moment for Aspen Group but also for Penang to welcome an international brand - Marriott International, Inc. to our state. Marriott International, Inc., is a leading global hotel chain consisting 30 brands featuring more than 6,700 properties across 129 countries. Marriott International, Inc. is not a new name in Penang, and we are excited to have more brands under its wing to operate in Penang.

I was informed that with the signing of this Agreement, Batu Kawan will see the construction of an Aloft Hotel consisting a 30-storey tower that will feature all the high-end facilities. Strategically located in Aspen Vision City, the hotel will be most sought after with its added advantage, where the only IKEA in the Northern Region, is just within walking distance from it. This is also in line with the State’s vision to attract more global established hotel brands in moving Penang up the tourism value chain of MICE, medical tourism, heritage tourism and business tourism. Penang has witnessed tremendous growth in the tourism sector, with more than half of Malaysia’s medical tourism receipt contributed by Penang and Penang International Airport has achieved 7.6% increase in total passenger movement in 2018 to reach 7.8 million passenger movement. Penang will also host the World Seafood Congress in September 2019 and The International Congress and Conferences on Computational Design and Engineering (I3CDE) in July 2019.

I believe, this collaboration will bring in more joint ventures and business opportunities to all the parties involved that will increase the dynamism of business activities in Penang. I also hope that this collaboration will be a pull factor for industry players of international stature to invest in Batu Kawan and to play a significant role in the further growth of Penang. I wish to, once again, congratulate Aspen Group and Marriott International, Inc. and wish you all the best in this fruitful collaboration.

Thank you.