• Green Technology Master Plan targets RM180 billion revenue, 200,000 jobs by 2030
  • MITI to propose automation incentive for Manufacturing Industry in Budget 2018
  • UK trade mission leverages on Malaysia’s tech future
  • Malaysia imposes provisional anti-dumping duties on CRSS imports from four countries
  • Singtel, Ericsson to launch Singapore’s first 5G Centre of Excellence
  • Global firms join rush to Indonesia

GTMB Aims for RM180 Billion Revenue, 200,000 Jobs By 2030
The Green Technology Master Plan aims to boost growth of Malaysia’s green technology sector, with targeted revenue of RM180 billion and creating more than 200,000 jobs by 2030. The plan outlines Malaysia’s green technology strategy to create a resource-efficient, low-carbon footprint economy. Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister, Datuk Seri Maximus Johnity Ongkili (pic), announced the Master Plan in Kuala Lumpur today. He said, “The GTMP lays the foundation for a holistic shift in Malaysia’s approach to socio-economic development, while adhering to the principles of sustainability. It outlines the action plan and initiatives that cut across six major sectors – energy, manufacturing, building, transport, waste and water.”

MITI Proposes Automation Incentive For Manufacturing Industry
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry has proposed that the 2018 Budget include an incentive to spur growth of the automation ecosystem among local manufacturers and accelerate the Industry 4.0 transformation in the country. Second MITI Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan said Industry 4.0 was an agenda that needs to be prioritised as it affects Malaysia’s overall production and competitiveness in the international market. “We must give manufacturers an incentive because they need to invest towards automating their plants with new technology. They have to also switch from the conventional manual manufacturing process to digitalisation.

UK trade mission leverages on Malaysia’s tech future
FORTY technology companies from the United Kingdom were in Malaysia this week as part of the UK Mega Tech Mission organised by the UK’s Department of International Trade and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). This is the largest UK tech delegation ever to visit Malaysia, almost four times larger than last year’s delegation of 11 UK tech companies. British High Commissioner to Malaysia Vicki Treadell said that about 800 business-matching meetings had already taken place, meaning that the mission would meet its ambitious target of 1,000 B2B meetings. In comparison, last year’s mission saw about 150 business-matching sessions take place between 11 UK and 30 Malaysian companies. According to the British High Commission, a total of RM270 million of foreign direct investment (FDI) has been made in Malaysia by UK companies as a direct result of last year’s mission, which represents a 54% year-on-year growth in FDI. In addition, more than RM40 million of trade between UK and Malaysia has been generated through partnerships with Malaysian companies. MDEC chief executive officer Yasmin Mahmood said that MDEC expects as strong or even stronger growth this year as a result of this mission, stopping short of predicting exactly how much FDI the mission will see in monetary terms.

Government Imposes Provisional Anti-Dumping Duties on CRSS Imports From Four Countries
Malaysia has imposed a provisional anti-dumping duties ranging from 7.27 per cent to 111.61 per cent on cold-rolled stainless steel (CRSS) imports from China, South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Thailand. In a statement from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said, “The government has completed the preliminary anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of CRSS from these countries and found that there are sufficient evidences to continue with further investigation on the importation of CRSS from the alleged countries,” it said.

Singtel, Ericsson to launch Singapore’s first 5G Centre of Excellence
SINGTEL and Ericsson will jointly establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) to faciliate 5G development and deployment in Singapore. 5G, the next-generation mobile network technology, is expected to roll out globally from 2020 and will deliver massive connectivity, ultra-low latency, gigabit speeds, and enable advanced applications such as smart cities, Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality and autonomous vehicles. Co-funded by Singtel and Ericsson with an initial investment of S$2 million (US$1.47 million) over the next three years, CoE aims to spearhead the development of Singapore’s 5G mobile network infrastructure to support future Smart Nation initiatives.

Global firms join rush to Indonesia
Big-name investors including Expedia and Alibaba are pumping billions of dollars into Indonesian tech start-ups in a bid to capitalise on the country’s burgeoning digital economy and potential as Southeast Asia’s largest online market. Indonesia has seen a surge of cash into its technology sector over the past two years, helping support dozens of homegrown start-ups ranging from ride hailing apps to e-commerce firms. And with a population of more than 250 million, a swelling middle class and growing availability of cheap mobile devices, firms from across the world are piling in. “We believe that Indonesia is poised for a huge leap forward for its digital economy, following China’s growth and becoming the leading tech destination in the Southeast Asia region,” Adrian Li, a partner in Jakarta-based Convergence Ventures, told AFP. Last year $631 million in disclosed venture capital was ploughed into the country, according to research firm CB Insights, up from $31 million in 2015.

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