KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor is optimistic of increasing its market share in the local aerospace industry to 70% by 2020 from 62% currently, driven by growing demand for aerospace material globally and the rejuvenation of Subang Skypark.
State Investment, Industry and Commerce and Small and Medium Enterprises committee chairman Datuk Teng Chang Khim said the development would contribute positively to the state’s economy.
“The development of the aerospace industry would also create more high skilled jobs for the locals compared with labour-intensive ones,“ he said on the sidelines of the one-day Selangor: Regional Powerhouse conference here today.
Earlier, the International Trade and Industry Ministry said Malaysia’s aerospace export value was expected to increase by 15% this year from RM8.48 billion achieved last year, backed by an increase in orders.
Selangor has about 200 aerospace-related companies and has set three specific areas for the sector, namely Serendah, Subang and Sepang.
Teng stressed that Selangor was looking into long-term and high-technology driven foreign direct investment (FDI) and had continuously strive to achieve it.
“We have multiple action plans that focus on an array of sectors including manufacturing, aerospace and others. With these plans in place, we could showcase Selangor as a place of doing business as it has a complete ecosystem,“ he said.
Selangor is cautiously optimistic of securing RM10 billion in FDI for 2019.
Meanwhile, Teng also said the state was also focusing on strengthening its workforce in the form of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) to ensure graduates could find the jobs that are tailored to their courses.
“We are doing our best to reduce the mismatch in the industry and as we move to smart manufacturing, we would focus more on empowering the workforce towards becoming high skilled workers,“ he said. — Bernama
