Tanjung Malim to get boost from Geely’s Proton deal
TANJUNG MALIM: Tanjung Malim is set to become Malaysia’s next boom town, thanks to the recent acquisition of virtually half of Proton’s equity by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holdings Group.
Thousands of new jobs are expected to be created with the economic spillover effects transforming the quiet Perak town and beyond as Geely, backed by its world class research and development and design centres, is targeting to produce 500,000 cars for the Southeast Asian markets alone by 2020.
Malaysia will by then become the right-hand drive production hub for Geely in the Asean, thus allowing Tanjung Malim to run its maximum capacity, including the assembly of Volvo cars.
Yet another bonus for Proton following its tie-up with Geely that was sealed recently is getting the exclusive rights to Geely’s products and latest technology and access to markets beyond Southeast Asia and China.
Some 2.1 million cars were sold in Asean countries last year, up 85 per cent from 2006.
Proton is the biggest employer here with over 2,000 jobs, half of them locals and with tremendous impact on the town’s economy.
“This led to the Slim River subdistrict to be upgraded to the new Muallim district last year and new municipalities like Bandar Behrang 2020 and Kota Malim Prima,” he said. Bernama