Bioeconomy Corp partners French firm to develop Langkawi Cosmetic Island

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Bioeconomy Development Corp Sdn Bhd (Bioeconomy Corp) on Monday signed a collaboration proposal agreement with Cosmetic Valley from France to develop the bio-cosmeceuticals and wellness industries, which will see the implementation of a herbal, cosmetics and perfumery cluster model in Langkawi.
Known as Langkawi Cosmetic Island (LCI), the total investment of the cluster development in Langkawi for three phases is estimated at RM360 million.
Cosmetic Valley is the world’s first competitiveness cluster entirely devoted to the perfumery and cosmetics sector based in France and oversees a network of businesses, research and training centres committed to innovating and penetrating international markets.
The proposed collaboration seeks to establish an international network for business development and collaboration among Malaysian and French companies, as well as to facilitate collaborative research, development and innovation activities in both countries, with a focus on bio-based technology and products, bio-cosmeceuticals and wellness.
Bioeconomy Corp CEO Datuk Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal said it hopes to develop the first phase of LCI in the next two years.
“By taking this opportunity to be involved in the growing bio-cosmeceuticals and wellness industries, Malaysia could be a major player in contributing to the global cosnetics market,” said Nazlee.
Through the integration of Bioeconomy Community Development Programme (BCDP) in LCI’s action plan, an estimated 5,824 jobs will be created for 300ha of land in three phases, with BCDP expected to create an estimated 2,599 jobs through contract farming with local farmers.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Madius Tangau said Malaysia will be the first in Asean to build the herbal, cosmetics and perfumery cluster in collaboration with France.
“With this collaboration in place, Cosmetic Valley, Japan Cosmetic Centre (in Japan) and LCI will form the ‘Cosmetic Golden Triangle’ where we can further boost bioeconomy in the respective countries,” Tangau said.