DRB-HICOM AND GEELY ATTRACT INVESTORS TO AHTV

Following the signing of a Heads of Agreement (HOA) on 1 April between DRB- HICOM and Geely in Beijing to develop the Automotive High Tech Valley (AHTV), both parties have taken another step towards the fulfilment of their commitment to building Malaysia’s future hub for Next Generation Vehicles (NxGV) in Tanjung Malim.

The Global Investors & Vendors Convention 2023, organised by PROTON, was held today in Kuala Lumpur, and attracted over 200 participants comprising officials from government agencies, management representatives from DRB-HICOM, Geely and PROTON as well as local and overseas vendors, with the latter represented by 42 automotive suppliers from China.

The Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, YB Senator Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Bin Tengku Abdul Aziz was the guest of honour and delivered a keynote address.

Aside from providing a platform for potential overseas investors to meet relevant government agencies as well as potential partners from the local vendor community, the conference also showcased the progress made at the project site, the availability of government incentives and prospects for companies setting up new business at the AHTV, which is projected to eventually become an integrated automotive city.

It is envisioned that when fully realised, AHTV will be a centre for globally recognised tropical based research and development of high technology automotive components that 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.

“The Global Investors & Vendors Convention 2023 is one of DRB-HICOM and Geely’s efforts to attract overseas investment in to AHTV and the country and together, we target to attract some RM32 billion worth of investments towards the project, including what has already been earmarked by PROTON.

As the shift to New Energy Vehicles gathers pace AHTV will embrace the changing automotive landscape by offering an integrated ecosystem that will help Malaysia’s automotive sector in line with the direction of the National Automotive Policy (“NAP”) 2020, thus ensuring the country continues as vibrant as its neighbours.

“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.

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,” said Syed Faisal Albar, Group Managing Director, DRB-HICOM, and Chairman of PROTON.

Having operated its production plant in Tanjung Malim for the last 20 years, national carmaker PROTON stands to gain from the development of the automotive hub by leveraging on the presence of high technology suppliers at AHTV.

The company however will also 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.

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,” said Dr Li Chunrong, Chief Executive Officer, PROTON.