Malaysia's aviation industry to attract RM1 bln investments this year
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's aviation sector will remain attractive for both local and foreign players with RM1 billion in new investments expected to be approved this year.
Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said this was in line with the projection for aviation products and components exports to grow by at least 20 per cent this year.
"Malaysia is positioning itself to become a premium destination for some aircraft component manufacturing," he told a press conference in conjunction with the Malaysia Aerospace Summit 2017 (MyAERO' 17) here yesterday.
Last year, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority approved RM1.6 billion in investments for the aviation industry while the export of aviation products and components grew 32 per cent to RM5.5 billion, he said. The industry currently employed 21,000 workers.
Mustapa said the government was committed in becoming the leader in the industry by 2030 as the aviation industry ecosystem in Malaysia had experienced rapid growth in the last two decades and now boasts of more than 200 companies operating in the country.
"Malaysia, in this part of the world, is very strategic and more players are coming in.
"We now have UMW Aerospace Sdn Bhd, Composites Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd, General Electric and Airbus among others. We can say more and more companies are interested to join this industry," he added.
The minister also said Asia's aerospace market was expected to become the largest market in the world by 2036 with 16,000 new aircraft to be delivered to the region in the next 20 years.
MyAERO 17 is organised by MITI, on a massive scale, for the first time to promote the capabilities of local aerospace industry in producing world class products and components. — Bernama