PETALING JAYA – Selangor is set to play host to a 10-day business event known as the Selangor International Business Summit 2017 scheduled from September 7 – 17, 2017 at the Setia City Convention Centre (SCCC), Shah Alam, which is slated to be the biggest business event to be held in the country.
The summit will comprise three main components and will kick-off with the Selangor Smart City & Future Commerce Convention 2017 from September 7-9, then to be followed by the Selangor-ASEAN Business Conference from September 11-12 and the Selangor International Expo 2017 from September 14-17.
Speaking during the soft launch of the event, Dato’ Teng Chang Khim, Selangor’s State Senior Executive Councillor for Investment, Industry & Commerce, SME & Transportation, said that the Selangor State Government, via Invest Selangor Berhad, has organised the Selangor International Expo, one of the components of the summit, since 2015 which had attracted a large number of business community including those from the ASEAN, China, Middle East and European regions.
“It has been successful in positioning Selangor as a global trading hub, creating platforms for local and foreign MNCs, SMEs and entrepreneurs to showcase their products and services, becoming a perfect avenue for marketing, collaborations and partnerships and providing exposure and information on the latest technologies.
Thus the reason why we have decided to make it bigger this year by adding two other components to separate the future commerce industries, conferences and trade exhibition to enable participants and visitors to have more focus to each of the components,” he added.
For the record, the Selangor International Expo 2016 has attracted 373 companies from 15 regions who took up a total of 525 booths while 10,689 visitors came to the event last year and about RM100 million transactions were recorded during the event.
The first component of this year’s summit, The Selangor Smart City & Future Commerce Convention 2017, is a global event about how smart & digital technologies are transforming cities around the world and future commerce changing the digital revolution in Selangor.
“Together with former deputy mayor of Barcelona Antoni Vives, who has been in charge of the city’s Smart City development & Urban Habitat in Barcelona, and current CEO of the City Transformation Agency of Barcelona, we bring together experts and practitioners from the leading cities and countries in APAC, Middle East, Eurasia and Europe to share insights about the prospects of digital urban futures and the world’s leading smart city experiences,” said Dato’ Teng (pic).
This will be followed by the Selangor-ASEAN Business Conference 2017, a two-day conference with international speakers, encompassing key industries such as food & beverage, life sciences and biotechnology. Including a one-day industrial site visit to Pulau Indah a.k.a. Selangor’s Halal Hub and Selangor Bio Bay.
The conference would also include an International Golf Tournament where the HRH Raja Muda of Selangor has agreed to grace the event and an award ceremony where Selangor-born entrepreneurs or those who have their businesses in Selangor for several years will be awarded for their achievements.
The Selangor International Expo 2017 will then conclude the summit and will be held over four days featuring two synergetic sectors namely, Life Sciences and F&B, as well as halal market segments which are all the fastest growing sectors cutting across the border.
“The Selangor International Business Summit 2017 will be an important event in Selangor’s trade and investment calendar – as more efforts are being placed on high-tech and capital incentives industries to enable both the private & public sectors work in sync towards making Selangor a ‘Smart State’.
“It is also aimed at positioning Selangor to become a global trading hub, especially in becoming the Gateway to ASEAN, as a business and trading hub for the ASEAN region.
“As Malaysia’s largest economy the most progressive state, Selangor enjoys a highly developed infrastructure, advanced commercial ecosystem and a well‐established investment haven backed by excellent state government support to help business community do their businesses here,” he added.
In 2016, Malaysia secured total approved investments amounting to RM58.4 billion in the manufacturing sector, declined by 22% in value compared with RM74.6 billion in 2015.
During the same period, Selangor outperformed its RM 6.0 billion target, achieving investments of RM7.88 billion in the manufacturing sector, slightly decrease from RM 7.96 billion in 2015. Selangor ranked second in Malaysia in terms of total direct investment in the manufacturing sector after Johor. Based on the number of approved manufacturing projects, Selangor, however, remained first with 242 projects followed by Johor with 165 projects.
“Malaysia is in a transition period as it is still on a journey of transforming into a high-tech nation. Thus, one of the challenges that Selangor faces is the lack of labour which may have triggered some concerns amongst the foreign investors.
“In order to further enhance, match and develop our local talent pool, Invest Selangor as part of the state government has established the Invest Selangor Talent Initiative to connect industry and education service providers to prepare our talents for a challenging job market and provide them with a competitive package of skills and knowledge to contribute to investing corporations’ success.
“Moreover, with more than 150 institutions of higher learning in the country, Invest Selangor is confident that Selangor’s talent pool can cater to every investor’s needs and requirements,” he concluded.
The soft launch was attended by approximately 200 guests including Selangor EXCO members, senior state officers, foreign dignitaries and representatives from the national and state business associations and chambers of commerce and industry and captain of industries as well as exhibitors and potential exhibitors for Selangor International Expo 2017.
For enquiries about the Selangor International Expo 2017, please visit www.selangorexpo.com and contact our appointed event management; Qube Integrated Sdn Bhd : Tel.: Ms. Lorela Chia +012 278 3899/ Mr. Firdaus +012 278 0816 / email: sie@qube.com.my. For enquiries on Investment in Selangor, kindly contact : Tel: +(6) 03-55102005 /E-mail : enquiry@investselangor.my
-BERNAMA
