RIG leverages on Halal industry in Malaysia, China
PKFZ chief executive officer Datuk Chia Kon Leong remarked, “With the Halal industry being listed as a key focus area under the 11th Malaysia Plan, we believe PKFZ’s partnership with RIG will be instrumental towards realising the nation’s vision.”
The collaboration with PKFZ comes shortly after Million Sunray entered into a Heads of Agreement with China – Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park Administrative Committee (CMQIPAC) to develop a Halal Industry Zone within the Qinzhou Industrial Park (CMQIP) in September 2016.
RIG’s partnership with PKFZ is part of the master plan for RIG to emerge as a cross-border platform connector for all Halalrelated activities between China and Malaysia, serving as a potential hotspot to bring together local and global investors and operators for Halal production, logistics and trade, aligning with the ‘One Belt One Road’ policy initiated by the Chinese government.
Positioned as one of the world’s busiest ports, Port Klang and PKFZ have established trade link with 120 countries and is linked by major shipping lines to 500 ports around the world. Leveraging on PKFZ’s strategic location and logistics capabilities, RIG-PKFZ’s alliance is expected to provide efficient Halal-related manufacturing and distributing services, and materially transform the group’s longterm profits growth.
As a regional distribution base and trade and logistics centre, PKFZ is the first development of its kind in Malaysia that incorporates both commercial and manufacturing activities in the same zone to ensure smoother supply chain management and easier coordination for the businesses that have set up base within PKFZ.
The designated Halal area within PKFZ includes 72 light industrial units spanning 395,000 square feet, and is well placed to capitalise on its location within Port Klang, Malaysia’s largest port, to procure and distribute halal products domestically and internationally.
Leveraging on its widely accepted accreditation in Halal certification, Malaysia is also well-poised to become a leader in the global Halal industry, a fast growing industry driven by the rapid growth in the Muslim population and rising disposable incomes in majority Muslim countries.
The industry is currently estimated to be worth RM8.4 trillion annually, comprising both the food and non-food sectors.
Specialized in research, development, innovation and commercialization related to Halal industry, the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) is another partner which RIG is in discussion with to provide quality consultancy services and well-trained human resources for the future development of the Halal Industry Zone in CMQIP.
Million Sunray had garnered a Letter of Intent (LOI) with IIUM as an indication of the institute’s interest in the project to further discussions on the details of cooperation.
Working in partnership with CMQIP and now PKFZ and IIUM, RIG’s foray into the development of halal industries and hubs clearly depicts the group’s determination to be a fulfilling cross-border investment gateway and platform connector between investors from Singapore, Malaysia and China.
The group believed that new potential revenue streams generated from the Halal hub initiative would prove to be enduring and sustainable for the Group’s long term development in the near future.