Penang eyes one-year timeline for technology finance centre, plans implementation office

GEORGE TOWN, Oct 30 — The Penang government hopes to establish the proposed Penang Technology Finance Centre (PTFC) within a year, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow told the state legislative assembly today.

“Initially, we said we wanted to see this realised within two years. Some people felt that was too long and asked us to shorten the timeframe to one year.

“We will try, and we will need close support and cooperation from the federal agencies,” he told the state legislative assembly when replying to a supplementary question by Bukit Tengah assemblyman Gooi Hsiao-Leung.

He said the state will also need to establish an implementation office for the PTFC to bring together resources in Penang and work with other stakeholders.

“We cannot simply wait for the federal government, sometimes we need to take the initiative and show that we are serious about this,” he said.

Chow said the state initially set out to establish a Penang International Financial Centre (PIFC) but after discussions with stakeholders and with the Finance Ministry, the state decided to build on its strength as the country’s technology hub.

“The White Paper we submitted takes this change and development into account. We formally asked the federal government to agree to the establishment of the Penang Technology Finance Centre, as set out in the White Paper,” he said.

Chow said he was surprised when the finance minister, who is also the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, announced in the 2027 Budget that Penang had been designated as the country’s financial technology centre.

“We see this as an enhancement of our proposal. What we had put forward as a regional centre could now be recognised as having a larger, national role,” he said.

He said the country already has several financial centres, including in Labuan and Kuala Lumpur, so the state’s proposal should have criteria that distinguish it from conventional financial centres.

He said a technology finance centre will be able to strengthen the state’s technology ecosystem.

“We want to strengthen them into an integrated finance and investment ecosystem that can mobilise capital, financial services and innovative financial solutions,” he said.

He said this has the potential to accelerate technology development in Penang and the northern region, and eventually across the country, in line with national initiatives such as the National Semiconductor Strategy and the New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP).

Chow said after the announcement in Parliament, parties from other countries have already shown interest and see an opportunity to bring in funding to participate in the development of the technology sector in the state.

“This would bring wider benefits to the economy and the state’s development, with spillover effects for the people, existing SMEs, start-ups and our universities, which are actively conducting research and development,” he said.

Gooi had also asked if the White Paper, including the Strategic Blueprint and Action Plan that is being prepared, can be presented to all state assembly members so that they can give their views and suggestions on the plan.

“Once the Strategic Blueprint and Action Plan are ready, we will invite all assembly members and present them to you,” Chow replied.

He also said the state hoped to finalise the governance arrangements for a RM100 million strategic fund involving Khazanah and InvestPenang by year end.

He said SMEs in the semiconductor and E&E sectors had already expressed interest in accessing the fund.

“This is a small fund, but it is a start and an injection of confidence into what we are trying to achieve,” he said.

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乔治市，10月30日讯——槟城首席部长曹观友今天在州立法议会表示，槟城政府希望在一年内建立拟建的槟城科技金融中心（PTFC）。

“最初，我们表示希望在两年内实现这一目标。有些人觉得时间太长，要求我们将时间缩短到一年。”

“我们会尽力，但我们需要联邦机构的密切支持与合作，”他在回答武吉登加州议员吴孝良的补充提问时告诉州立法议会。

他表示，州政府还需要为槟城转型基金（PTFC）设立一个执行办公室，以整合槟城的资源并与其他利益相关者合作。

“我们不能只是等待联邦政府，有时候我们需要主动出击，表明我们对此事的认真态度，”他说。

周先生表示，槟城州最初计划建立槟城国际金融中心（PIFC），但在与利益相关者和财政部讨论后，槟城州决定发挥其作为国家科技中心的优势。

他说：“我们提交的白皮书已将这一变化和发展考虑在内。我们已正式请求联邦政府同意按照白皮书所述设立槟城科技金融中心。”

周先生表示，财政部长兼首相拿督斯里安华在2027年财政预算案中宣布槟城被指定为国家金融科技中心时，他感到很惊讶。

他说：“我们认为这是对我们提案的提升。我们之前提出的区域中心方案现在可以被认为具有更大的国家级作用。”

他表示，该国已经拥有多个金融中心，包括纳闽和吉隆坡，因此该州的提案应该有区别于传统金融中心的标准。

他表示，科技金融中心将能够加强该州的科技生态系统。

“我们希望将它们加强为一个综合性的金融和投资生态系统，从而能够调动资本、金融服务和创新的金融解决方案，”他说。

他表示，这有可能加速槟城和北部地区的技术发展，并最终推动全国的技术发展，符合国家半导体战略和新产业总体规划（NIMP）等国家举措。

周先生表示，在国会宣布这一消息后，其他国家的政党已经表示出兴趣，并看到了引入资金参与该州科技产业发展的机会。

“这将为经济和国家发展带来更广泛的好处，对人民、现有中小企业、初创企业以及我们积极开展研发的大学都具有溢出效应，”他说。

Gooi还询问，能否将正在制定的白皮书（包括战略蓝图和行动计划）提交给所有州议员，以便他们就该计划提出意见和建议。

周先生回答说：“一旦战略蓝图和行动计划制定完成，我们将邀请所有议员向你们介绍。”

他还表示，州政府希望在年底前敲定涉及国库控股和槟城投资局的1亿令吉战略基金的治理安排。

他表示，半导体和电子电气行业的中小企业已经表示有兴趣获得该基金的资助。

“这笔资金数额虽小，但这是一个开始，也为我们努力实现的目标注入了信心，”他说。

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