THE Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali-led trade and investment mission (TIM) to South Korea and Japan from March 31 to April 6 has successfully secured RM8.9 bil in committed investment for 2021.
This is on top of the RM986.15 mil of export-related deals that he clinched from his maiden East Asian investment mission as per reported by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) earlier today.
According to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), the Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) was instrumental in convincing SK Nexilis Co Ltd, a subsidiary of South Korea’s SK Group to revise upward its original investment of RM2.3 bil to RM4.24 bil to establish a thin copper foil manufacturing plant in Sabah.
The project is in line with the Government’s intention to develop a complete ecosystem of high-tech industries, especially in the automotive and telecommunication sectors.
The manufacturing plant in Kota Kinabalu will be powered utilising 100% renewable energy where such operation will be the first for SK Nexilis outside South Korea.
“Malaysia will be a major hub for a state-of-the-art for thin copper foil production with in-house technology, besides boosting Malaysia’s talent network and capabilities with the company’s presence,” MIDA pointed out in a statement.
SK Nexilis is a global leader in thin-tech innovation for copper foil manufacturing, controlling 16% of the world market share for electric vehicle (EV) battery.
Another notable project is the manufacturing of next generation electric foil (Elecfoil) by ILJIN Materials. Elecfoil is a thin copper foil with a thickness of less than 10 micrometers for secondary batteries and printed circuit board (PCB).
In 2018, the company has established its first overseas factory in Samajaya Free Industrial Zone, Kuching to manufacture its elecfoil. ILJIN will be undertaking an expansion project, to manufacture its next generation of elecfoil with additional investment of RM2.2 bil.
The expansion project will be executed on 16 hectares of land adjacent to the existing project which is expected to materialise in 2025 where ILJIN will produce 40,000 tonnes of elecfoil annually.
Meanwhile, LG Chem Ltd, the largest Korean chemical company (also a Global Top 10 chemical company), has also indicated its interest in developing the petrochemical cluster in Malaysia.
The company will set up a joint venture with Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd to produce nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) latex in the Pengerang integrated petroleum Complex (PIPC) with a potential investment of RM600 mil where the operation is expected to commence in March 2023.
Additionally, SPC Group, a large food and confectionery conglomerate in South Korea and one of the oldest brands in the country’s confectionery and bakery industry with market-leading franchise brands such as Paris Baguette (bakery), Shake and Shack (bakery) and Baskin Robbins Korea (donuts and ice-cream) plans to make Malaysia a regional distribution hub for halal dough with investment valued at RM91.2 mil to cater the Asean market.
Elsewhere, Nippon Electric Glass Co Ltd (NEG), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of specialty glass from Japan, will invest at least RM1 bil for the new production of e-glass fibre.
NEG is the leading glass manufacture for flat panel displays, controlling 20% of the market share in the world’s production of glass for liquid crystal displays (LCD).
The new e-glass fibre will be used to produce automotive parts and components in the production of wind turbine blades for wind power generation.
The new project is set to begin operations in 2022, using improved manufacturing process by capitalising on artificial intelligence (AI) and other futuristic technologies. – April 26, 2021
