E&E Industry in Penang, Malaysia: Success Stories & The Way Forward

AMCHAM had an early start today participating in HSBC’s webinar: E&E Industry in Penang, Malaysia: Way Forward. The event featured Dato’ Seri Lee Kah Choon, Special Advisor to the Chief Minister of Penang; Andrew Sill, Country Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC Malaysia; Vishal Karanwal, Country Head of International Subsidiary Banking, HSBC Malaysia; and Debra Lodge, Managing Director, Head of Corporate International Solutions, HSBC USA; and our very own Siobhan Das, CEO, AMCHAM. This webinar is HSBC Malaysia’s first flagship event catering to the U.S. audience, in collaboration with InvestPenang and AMCHAM.

The discussion centered around the E&E industry in Penang, the Silicon Valley of the East. Panelists dove into the history of Penang as an investment hub as early as in the late 60s, since the arrival of the eight pioneer foreign companies also known as the ‘8 Samurais’ out of which 4 are U.S. companies. The state government of Penang has attracted major multinational companies in the E&E industry through a well-designed investment promotion strategy, infrastructure development, skills development and more. 

Panelists also highlighted the current challenges in Malaysia amidst the pandemic and the 18-month lockdown since last year which caused major disruptions in the global supply chain as well as the on-going talent shortage. 

We hope that the panel discussion provided an overview of the opportunities as well as the challenges to potential investors who are considering investing in Penang. Special thank you to HSBC for inviting AMCHAM and we look forward to future collaborations.