SPEECH BY YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW

THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG

Investment Announcement of AMS OSRAM

7 March 2022

Penang Development Corporation, Penang

YB Dato' Haji Abdul Halim bin Haji Hussain

Penang State Exco for Trade, Industry & Entrepreneur Development

YBhg Dato’ Seri Lee Kah Choon

Special Investment Advisor to the Chief Minister of Penang

Mr Aziz bin Bakar

CEO of Penang Development Corporation

YBhg Dato’ Loo Lee Lian

CEO of InvestPenang

Mr. Muhammad Ghaddaffi bin Sardar Mohamed

Director of MIDA Penang

Mr. Glen Brownlie

Vice President of ams OSRAM Group (Malaysia)

Distinguished guests

Members of the press

Ladies & gentlemen

 

A very good afternoon to everyone. Today, I am pleased to announce that ams OSRAM, a global leader in optical solutions, is expanding its presence in Penang. ams OSRAM, formerly known as OSRAM, is a pioneer multinational company that has set foot in Penang since 1972.

The company has selected a 60-acre site at Penang International Technology Park (PITP), Batu Kawan for this investment. Construction of the campus is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2022 and targeted to be completed by the end of 2023.

With ams OSRAM’s 50 years of presence here, this investment is indeed a strong testimonial for Penang as a sustainable location for high quality investments. ams OSRAM has witnessed, participated and contributed to Penang’s industrialisation journey, transforming the State from a seaport economy to its position today as the Silicon Valley of the East.

I believe that our robust industrial ecosystem, strong talent pool and conducive business environment are among the key factors for ams OSRAM to deepen its roots and widen its product portfolios in Penang.  

Ladies and gentlemen,

In an increasingly connected world, sensing and light innovations are critical in closing the gap between physical and digital experiences, and transforming product applications in the consumer, automotive, healthcare and industrial sectors.

According to Vantage Market Research, the global optoelectronic components market is estimated to reach over USD61 billion by 2028, versus USD42 billion market size in 2021.

I am glad that the merger between ams and OSRAM in March 2021 has rendered us with great opportunities to further cement Penang’s position in the global optical solutions market.

With ams OSRAM’s latest investment, Penang is poised to grow the talent pool that specializes in light sensing technologies, where ams is a pioneer and leader, and concurrently, deepens its engineering expertise in the field of emitting light, where OSRAM is a globally renowned player.

Moreover, ams OSRAM’s expansion plan is aligned with the state government’s direction in utilizing the resources to their fullest potential. Repurposing our existing assets is one of the state’s multi-pronged, long-term strategies to create positive and sustainable impact to the industry development, high-value job creation and talent attraction.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The significance of Penang on the global scale is well attested, buoyed by its critical role in the E&E industry. In particular, Penang accounted for over 5% of the global semiconductor sales.

In terms of trade performance, in 2021, Penang’s exports climbed 14% year-on-year, reaching its all-time high of RM354 billion, cementing Penang’s position as the nation’s highest contributor in exports. Notably, Penang’s exports are dominated by the electrical and electronic (E&E) and semiconductor products. Penang, being one of the key backbones to the country's economy, generated RM101 billion trade surplus in 2021.

On the investment front, Penang has recorded two years of outstanding investment performances in a row, which include 2019’s all-time-high achievement of RM17 billion, and the second highest in 2020 with RM14 billion.

In 2021, with the addition of a mega project from the semiconductor industry, the State’s investment performance will greatly outweigh the past records, driving us to the next level.

Ladies & gentlemen,

Penang has been successful in its transformation journey for the past decades. Celebrating 50th anniversary of Penang’s industrialization this year, I am particularly proud to see a new wave of strategic investments from the existing investors who have been here with us for the past decades.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), InvestPenang and Penang Development Corporation (PDC) for their synergistic efforts in engaging investors and facilitating project implementations.

Once again, my heartiest congratulation to ams OSRAM for this significant expansion in Penang. I look forward to seeing this new campus come to fruition. With unwavering support from the state machineries and InvestPenang as the facilitator, this is the State’s commitment in driving the project’s success.

Thank you.