KUALA LUMPUR (July 24): The Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd (MIDF) has approved soft loans totalling RM103.54 million to automate and modernise 29 companies up to June 2024.

Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said these soft loans represent the government’s stance on incentivising local industries to embrace smart manufacturing using Industry 4.0 (IR4.0) technologies that allow for efficient production in manufacturing.

In terms of talent, he noted that these new technologies will require workers with the right skill sets and the government has undertaken multiple initiatives to ensure a robust talent pipeline.

“The success of the New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030 and the National Semiconductor Strategy ultimately rests on developing the right industry-relevant talent pool to ensure businesses like yourselves can truly leverage IR4.0 technologies for future sustainable growth,” Zafrul said in his keynote address at the Malaysia Smart Manufacturing Awards 2023, here on Wednesday.

MIDF is an agency under the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti).

The minister also said that Malaysia aspires to be a smart manufacturing hub in the region, as outlined in NIMP 2030.

One of its mission-based projects is to establish 3,000 smart factories by 2030, he said.

“One way we can do this is by facilitating foreign direct investment (FDI) with hi-tech manufacturing capabilities while integrating domestic companies into multinational companies’ supply chains,” he said.

On another note, the minister said from 2021 until the first quarter of 2024, about RM162 billion worth of digital investments were approved, creating over 49,108 job opportunities.

“We expect these digital investments to also facilitate the transfer of technology to domestic or smaller companies,” said Zafrul.

He said advanced estimates for gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter of 2024 is 5.8%.

Zafrul attributed the stronger-than-expected GDP growth to a 4.7 % expansion in the manufacturing sector and an 8.4% increase in total trade for the first half of 2024, reaching almost RM1.4 trillion.

“The link is clear to me that tech-based investments will enable our manufacturing capacity to benefit from outcomes such as maximised plant efficiency, better risk management, better safety and quality control, and better energy efficiency.

“These will result in higher value exports that will contribute to GDP growth,” he said.

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