DRB-Hicom Bhd group chief operating officer, Properties, Corporate Planning and Strategy, Azri Zaharuddin (left, front) and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd senior vice-president and chief operating officer Dr Wei Mei (right, front) at the signing of the master collaboration agreement by the two companies. Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz (third from left, back) and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (fifth from left, back) are also present.

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 11): DRB-Hicom Bhd has inked a master collaboration agreement with Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd (Geely Holding) for the development of the Automotive High-Technology Valley (AHTV) project in Tanjung Malim, Perak.

Under the agreement, both parties agree to promote cooperation in new energy vehicles, plan the construction of the auto components industrial park, and promote the development of the new automotive industry, DRB-Hicom said in a Bursa Malaysia filing on Wednesday.

In April 2022, DRB-Hicom and Geely Holding signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop a vehicle hub and have been in talks about it. The MOU, which would have expired after six months without a definitive agreement, was later extended, as stated in bourse filings by DRB-Hicom in October 2022 and January this year.

Most recently, in April this year, both parties announced the signing of a heads of agreement for the project during the Malaysia-China Business Forum in Beijing.

The AHTV will cover an extensive automotive and mobility solutions value chain, from a fully-fledged high technology global research and development centre to a manufacturing cluster, supporting services, and associated ecosystem.

The AHTV is expected to attract some RM32 billion worth of investments, along with direct and indirect benefits to Proton’s plan to fully relocate its manufacturing facilities to Tanjong Malim by 2026. Proton, in which Geely owns a 49.9% stake while DRB-Hicom holds the remainder 50.1%, currently produces five models in AHTV and another two models in Shah Alam, Selangor.

Meanwhile in July, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Geely Holding would invest US$10 billion (RM47.3 billion) to turn Tanjung Malim into the region's largest auto city, marking one of the largest foreign direct investments the government announced in 2023.

This development followed Amazon's US$6 billion commitment (over 14 years till 2037) to strengthen its cloud services infrastructure, which was announced in March, and US-based semiconductor company Texas Instruments' plan to inject RM14.6 billion to expand its operations in Kuala Lumpur and Melaka, which was announced June.

DRB-Hicom shares inched up one sen or 0.71% to RM1.42 at Wednesday’s noon break, giving it a market capitalisation of RM2.75 billion.

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