With RM6.6b investments, Penang soon to be one of the world’s top offshore hubs to make medical devices
GEORGE TOWN, Dec 1 — Penang is poised to be one of the world’s top offshore manufacturing hubs for medical devices, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said today.
He said Penang is ready to be on par with Puerto Rico, Ireland and Costa Rica which are recognised as top offshore medical devices manufacturing hubs.
“Penang has garnered RM6.6 billion of approved manufacturing investments from scientific and measuring equipment, including medical devices, for the period between 2017 and 2021,” he said in his keynote address at the AMMI Malaysia Medtech Industry Summit 2022.
He said devices manufactured in Penang are on the high end of the value scale, such as cardiovascular products, orthopaedic implants and tools.
Malaysia houses 10 of the top 30 global medical technology companies and six of these companies are in Penang.
Chow said Penang has the highest concentration of medtech companies in Malaysia and South-east Asia.
“Penang remains a highly attractive location for its infrastructure availability and ecosystem that meet the needs of the medtech industry,” he said.
He said while Penang is famous for its electrical and electronics and semiconductor industry, the medical devices industry is Penang’s hidden gem.
“The presence of medtech players in Penang can be traced back to 1972 where B. Braun set up its manufacturing facility in the state,” he said.
He said the state is seeing a growing number of new and existing medtech companies today.
“Leveraging on that as a springboard, the Penang state government will focus on ensuring sustained growth in the medtech industry, especially on talent and infrastructure availability,” he said.
