HOTAYI ELECTRONIC 30TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER
SPEECH BY THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG
YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW
HOTAYI ELECTRONIC 30TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER
11 MARCH 2023
YB Dato’ Law Choo Kiang
Speaker of Penang State Legislative Assembly
YB Puan Chong Eng
Penang State EXCO for Social Development and Non-Islamic Religious Affairs
YB Tuan Jagdeep Singh Deo
Penang State EXCO for Housing, Local Government and Town & Country Planning
Honourable Members of the Penang State Legislative Assembly
Madam Phoebe Yeh
Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office Deputy Representative
Dato’ Seri Lee Hung Lung
Chairman of Hotayi Electronic (M) Sdn. Bhd.
Distinguished Guests
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen
A very good evening to everyone.
It is indeed a pleasure for me to be here with all of you today to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of Hotayi Electronic (M) Sdn. Bhd, and to be given the opportunity to acknowledge and commend the outstanding contributions of Hotayi Electronic to the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry.
To begin, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to the entire Hotayi Electronic management and staff for reaching this remarkable milestone. Your hard work and dedication over the years have laid the foundation for what is now known as one of Malaysia's leading global EMS companies, that provides a wide range of value-added manufacturing solutions and services such as PCB assembly till box build.
Since its establishment in 1992, Hotayi Electronic has achieved significant international milestones under Dato’ Seri Lee Hung Lung’s leadership. From a modest beginning with a team of only 50 employees and a single manufacturing plant in Bukit Tengah, Hotayi Electronic has undergone multiple expansions to become what it is today.
This includes a bold move to further expand its production, create new jobs, and become the strategic partner for smart manufacturing in the region, following Taiwan’s new southbound policy in 2017. Despite the uncertainties at that time, Dato’ Seri Lee’s confidence in his team members and vision for future growth forged the path ahead with huge investments. With today’s landscape of having more businesses moving into the ASEAN countries, Dato’ Seri Lee’s decision has proven to be the right one.
I must say, I am certainly pleased to see that Hotayi has grown tremendously since its humble beginnings, and that the company has identified Penang as an ideal location to embrace its next growth phase. In addition to Hotayi’s decision to reinvest and deepen its roots in the state with its BK2 project in Batu Kawan, I was informed that Hotayi to date, has invested a total of RM1.3 billion in its expansion projects here in Penang.
This demonstrates that the optimal combination of a robust supply chain, a strong talent pool, well-established infrastructure, and the state’s support services to investors make Penang a natural destination for investments. And where investments are concerned, the figures speak for themselves. On this note, MIDA’s latest figures for year 2022 reported Penang remaining as one of the nation’s biggest contributors in terms of investment worth RM13.7 billion out of the total investment worth RM84.3 billion approved for the manufacturing sector in Malaysia.
In addition to that, Penang also remains as a crucial pillar of the nation's external trade. In 2021, Penang topped the nation's list with an export value of RM354 billion recorded, and the external trade momentum in Penang has persisted into 2022 with a 27% year-on-year spike on the export value, reaching an all-time high of RM452 billion, which represents 29% of the country's total.
This success is a testament to Penang's industrialization journey, which marked its 50th anniversary last year, and the State Government is glad that Hotayi has been by our side over the past 30 years of this journey. We certainly look forward to Hotayi continuing to drive the economic development of the state of Penang through its expansions, job opportunities and expertise.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In line with the rapid industry growth, a healthy talent pipeline is imperative to meet the heightened industrial demand. The Penang State Government, via InvestPenang and other relevant state agencies, has implemented multi-pronged approaches and initiatives to deepen and widen the talent pool in Penang.
Nevertheless, there is only so much the State can do without participation from industry players. On this note, I would like to commend Hotayi in their efforts to actively seek and cultivate new engineering talents and skilled workers in the state. This includes collaborating with higher learning institutions to prepare and equip students with the necessary tools and skills in the industrial sector. I am pleased to note that Hotayi has signed an MoU with the Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC), whereby Hotayi funds a total of RM288,000 per year under the Hotayi Scholarship Fund for Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TARUC) students, as well as approximately RM100,000 a year for students in PSDC in the relevant courses.
I am confident that such efforts and the good work done by the Hotayi community will undoubtedly help to boost the country’s economy while bringing Penang to greater heights and realizing the Penang2030 vision of “A Family-Focused Green and Smart State That Inspires the Nation”. I sincerely hope that you will keep up the good work and continue to serve as an inspiration for other industry players to follow suit.
Congratulations once again to the entire Hotayi team on your 30th anniversary, and I wish you many more decades of excellence.
Thank you.