ETP new projects bring total committed investments to RM177.1bil

KUALA LUMPUR: A slew of new projects under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) has brought total committed investments to RM177.1bil.

The amount, committed up to year 2020, was expected to result in RM237.23bil in projected gross national income (GNI) and create 389,263 new jobs, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Najib announced 13 projects yesterday at Ernst & Young's ETP forum, with a total investment value of RM5.85bil and a projected GNI of RM6.68bil, creating an estimated 16,902 jobs.

Of these projects, IBM Corp will invest RM1bil over the next five years to build a new global delivery centre in Cyberjaya, Toshiba will spend RM268mil to manufacture equipment for the company's global supply chain while US-based technology firm Akamai Technologies will host its facilities locally.
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak delivering his keynote address at the Ernst & Young forum on Economic Transformation Programme

A total of RM1.25bil in local projects were revealed, including an investment of RM763mil by KPJ Healthcare Bhd which will build five hospitals over the next three years, and an investment by Esterchem (M) Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IOI Oleochemical Industries Bhd, which will spend RM130mil up to 2013 to build a new facility in Prai.

The ETP was launched a year ago by Najib.

It contains a set of reform and growth measures to boost Malaysia's GNI to US$523bil (RM1.7 trillion), or GNI per capita of US$15,000 (RM48,000), by the end of this decade, so as to meet the World Bank's threshold for high-income nation.

About RM10bil in investments under the ETP have been realised this year, making up 64% of some RM15bil committed for this year.

A total of 97 projects were at various stages of implementation, Najib said.