7/18/2012 — New Straits Times
The East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Korea’s Chungnam TechnoPark (CTP) to jointly promote collaboration between enterprises located within CTP and the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) of Malaysia.
In a statement issued here today, ECERDC said under the MoU, the parties will encourage partnerships between CTP and ECER companies in the areas of technology transfer and exchange, research and development (R&D), product coordination and market development, trade cooperation and joint investment.
At the MoU exchange ceremony, ECERDC was represented by its chief executive officer, Datuk Jebasingam Issace John, while CTP was represented by its president and chief executive officer, Dr Jang Won-Cheoul.
The CTP in Chungnam province, South Korea is a hub of regional innovation system which promotes industrial R&D, commercialisation, venture business incubation and strategic industries development.
The regional strategic industries include information technology (IT), automobiles, multi-media content and agricultural biotechnology.
“We see a lot of synergies in this collaboration especially in the areas of IT, automotive and food, among others, which perfectly complement ECER key projects such as the Halal parks in Gambang and Pasir Mas, Pekan Automotive Park and Kertih Biopolymer Park,” said Jebasingam.
The development concept of CTP is similar to that of Gambang Science Park, one of the key components of Pahang Technology Park in Kuantan, which focuses on the development of agro-biotechnology.
Gambang Science Park aims to become a place for investors and manufacturers to market biotechnology inventions and the park will be constructed using latest technologies in design, waste and power management systems.
“We are also exploring the possibility for Gambang Science Park to become the ‘sister techno park’ of CTP,” Jebasingam said.
He added that the MoU was indeed timely with ECERDC’s current participation in a trade and investment mission organised by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) to South Korea from July 16 to July 19, led by the Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
The Federal Government has so far invested over RM2 billion to enhance the infrastructure in ECER for the benefit of local residents and to make the region more investor-friendly.
“With the continued support of the Malaysian Government and the ongoing developments that are taking place in the region, we are confident that ECER Malaysia will serve as the ideal investment destination for Korean investors,” he said.
Last year, Korea was the second largest foreign investor in Malaysia with approved investments of US$1.6 billion in 10 projects, of which seven were new and three were expanded projects.
The ECER of Malaysia, which covers the states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and the district of Mersing in Johor, is a rapidly transforming region that is steadily positioning itself as a distinctive, dynamic and competitive destination for investments.
