PENANG, according to the macroeconomic indicators, is showing healthy signs of recovery post-pandemic.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow shared four indicators which showed that Penang’s economy had rebounded quickly.
“Penang’s economy achieved the highest growth rate among other states in 2021, at 6.8%, with its contribution to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rising to 7.1%.
“This rate is higher than the 6.6% achieved in 2019. This was supported by the growth rate in the manufacturing sector of 12.4%; this was primarily driven by a 16.5% increase in Electrical and Electronics (E&E) products.
“Secondly, Penang marked a new record in capital investment for the manufacturing sector in 2021, valued at RM76.2billion.
“Together with the prospects of creating 12,000 high-value job opportunities and a solid industrial ecosystem built over half a century, Penang is in good stead to achieve more milestones in the coming future.
“Thirdly, both exports and imports for Penang grew at double-digit rates in the first half of 2022, with a trade surplus of RM58.5 billion; increased by 13.1% compared to the first half of 2021.
“Penang’s export value contributed 29.2% of the country’s exports, with Penang International Airport (PIA) being the largest export channel in Malaysia. Its merchandised trade-to-GDP ratio is also showing increasing trade openness to international trade.
“Next, Penang remains resilient in the labour market. The unemployment rate went down to 2.9% in the second quarter of 2022, easing at a faster pace than the national rate.
“The reported loss of employment fell drastically from 10,465 people in 2020 to 1,212 people as of Aug 12 this year,” Chow said in his opening address during the Penang Economic Summit 2022: The Post-Pandemic Economic Reset at Setia SPICE Convention Centre today.
Jointly organised by Enterprise Asia and Penang Institute, the Penang Economic Summit (PES) 2022 is a spin-off of the Asia Economic Forum (AEF) which aims at identifying opportunities and new growth drivers for Asia and Penang amidst the ongoing political conflicts, trade tensions and strained supply chains.
In his speech, Chow added that the state’s industrialisation was significant in growing other ancillary industries such as medical devices, engineering services, precision machining and logistics.
“We keep building on this synergy to expand our local capabilities for the long-term economic growth of the country. Here, I would like to stress the importance of collaboration between the state and federal governments to uplift the people’s livelihood.
“Labour shortage and brain drain are pressing issues that need to be addressed by policymakers together with education departments and industry players, whose insights and cooperation are urgently needed.
“Difficulties in hiring and employee retention are prevalent worldwide, partly driven by positive business recovery and solid consumer demand.
“Job opportunities accelerated by business investment are making recruitment policies more progressive domestically and internationally. However, the hiring trend may be easing off as a result of the slowdown in the United States economy.
“The Penang government is doing its part to attract more workers nationwide to join the Penang workforce through the Penang Internship Subsidy Programme (PISP), the affordable housing scheme and the Penang Future Foundation scholarship initiative.
“In addition, the state is adopting the whole-of-society approach following the Penang2030 vision which aims at making Penang a family-focused, green and smart state that inspires the nation.
“We seek an improved quality of life and strong social connections in the community, and liveability for both young and old.
“Penang is also fully investing in digitalisation, and all the state government agencies are coming together to work closely with each other to achieve these common goals,” he said.
Despite the successes, Chow said Penang must not take the state’s positive macroeconomic performance for granted.
“Given the strong connection between Penang’s economy and the world, we should take the global economic headwinds seriously, and identify the opportunities that these challenges will nevertheless, bring,” he said.
Chow also spoke about Penang’s overdependency on the E&E sector in the state.
“We are too dependent on the E&E sector and are subject to the ups and downs of the global situation.
“And in times like these, we are affected and we face great risk despite there being many opportunities arising from the global conflicts these few years.
“We cannot rest on our laurels. We need to leverage the E&E sector to grow other subsectors so that we can diversify our economy and become less dependent on the E&E sector,” he said.
Enterprise Asia chairman Tan Sri Dr Fong Chan Onn welcomed the participants to the PES and AEF 2022.
“The AEF was first organised in Macau, China in 2012 and has since been brought to Singapore, Shanghai, and Bangkok.
“Today (Oct 20), we are excited to organise the AEF for the first time in Malaysia; and hold it concurrently with the PES 2022.
“We are thankful to the state government, in particular, the Chief Minister and the state executive councillor for Entrepreneurial Development, Trade and Industry, for the support and endorsement given to the Summit and for welcoming the business leaders and entrepreneurs who are participating in the Summit in Penang,” he said.
Dr Fong said 2022 has proven to be a year of a strong recovery in building the economy as the world gradually adapts to a post-pandemic era.
Panellists – National University of Singapore dean and Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Prof Danny Quah, Yayasan Rahimah bt Yusof Board of Trustees member and economist Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi and Chow – also took part in a dialogue, entitled ‘Global Economic Outlook: Opportunities and Challenges’, after the opening ceremony.
The first dialogue was moderated by Penang Institute executive director Datuk Dr Ooi Kee Beng.
Among the dignitaries present at the Summit were Penang Entrepreneurial Development, Trade and Industry Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain, Penang Chief Minister’s special investment adviser Datuk Seri Lee Kah Choon, InvestPenang chief executive officer Datuk Loo Lee Lian, and Digital Penang chief executive officer Tony Yeoh.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Alissala Thian
Video by Law Suun Ting