DRB-Hicom and Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely) are working together to attract investors to the Automotive High Tech Valley (AHTV) with today’s Global Investors & Vendors Convention 2023, organised by Proton.

This comes following the signing of a heads of agreement (HOA) between DRB-Hicom and Geely in April 2023 to develop AHTV into an automotive industry hub for the ASEAN region. AHTV will also serve to become Malaysia’s future hub for Next Generation Vehicles (NxGV) outlined in the National Automotive Policy 2020 (NAP 2020).

Held in Kuala Lumpur, the event attracted over 200 participants comprising officials from government agencies; management representatives from DRB-Hicom, Geely and Proton; as well as local and overseas vendors, which included 42 automotive supplies from China. Minister of investment, trade and industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz was also in attendance as the guest of honour.

The Global Investors & Vendors Convention 2023 serves not only as platform for potential overseas investors to meet relevant government agencies and potential partners, but also showcases the progress made at the AHTV site in Tanjung Malim, the availability of government incentives and prospects for companies looking to set up new businesses at the AHTV.

The goal is to make AHTV a centre for globally recognised tropical based research and development of high technology automotive components, which will include a research university aimed at expanding the capabilities of Malaysian automotive workers and helping the country become a regional leader in education for automotive engineering, information technology, artificial intelligence, and software development.

According to Syed Faisal Albar, DRB-Hicom group managing director and Proton chairman, the event is one of efforts made to attract overseas investment in to AHTV, with the target of bringing in RM32 billion worth of investments towards the project, including what has already been earmarked by Proton.

“Concurrently, our combined efforts as well as the strong interest shown by vendors from China will help attract support for the project from the Chinese government, which can lead to even more investments propelled in to AHTV and Malaysia,” said Syed Faisal.

“Geely’s collaboration with Proton and their support for the project has already resulted in several investors and component suppliers operating in Tanjung Malim, and their existing high technology ecosystem is sure to play a major role in bringing the project forwards,” he added.

Proton already has a presence in Tanjung Malim for the past two decades and it stands to benefit from the development of the automotive hub. It will bring additional benefits to the surrounding area when it fully relocates its manufacturing and research and design facilities there by 2026.

“AHTV will be a regional NxGV hub, but Proton shall continue to have a large presence there as the owners of the project, DRB-HICOM and Geely, are also Proton’s shareholders,” said Li Chunrong, CEO of Proton.

“Therefore, the company will remain heavily involved in efforts to attract overseas investors to the project, performing R&D activities at AHTV as we further develop our offerings, and creating jobs as we work towards achieving our long-term goals. We also view this as part of Proton’s commitment to being a custodian of the automotive industry in Malaysia as we seek to help nurture, develop, and grow the national ecosystem,” he continued.

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