SPEAKING to reporters on Oct 26, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng highlighted the economic performance of the state as shown by figures released by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA).
“For the first six months of 2017, Penang recorded a total proposed capital investment of RM7.7 billion which exceeded the total recorded for last year which was RM4.3 billion. This means the (performance of the) first six months of this year is better than the whole of 2016. And if you make a comparison of what’s shown in the table, Penang outperformed Malacca (which is No.2 after Penang) which investment figures reached RM2.9 billion,” the chief minister said.
“In terms of FDI, Penang has the most which is RM6.2 billion (for the first six months of 2017). This is the highest amount of FDI (achieved by a state) in Malaysia. The total proposed capital investment achieved by Penang is 45% of the total amount in the country. We are the second smallest state in Malaysia but our investment figure is number one,” he added.
“And if we compare the figures of investments for the period 1998 until 2007 with (the figures from) 2008 until the middle of 2017, we increased by almost 82%. This is an outstanding economic performance and would provide job opportunities to the people,” Lim noted.
With Lim at the press conference were exco members Chow Kon Yeow (Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation) and Jagdeep Singh (Town & Country Planning and Housing) as well as Penang Island mayor Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif.