Malaysia will position Penang as its national technology finance centre under Budget 2027, backed by a RM100 million fund to bankroll early-stage technology companies in the state.
Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the plan when tabling the budget in the Dewan Rakyat on 9 October. Khazanah Nasional Bhd and InvestPenang will establish the Strategic Investment Fund to support semiconductor and advanced manufacturing companies in the early stages of growth, according to Fintech News Malaysia.
The announcement places Penang’s technology sector at the centre of the government’s push to expand financing support for high-tech industries. The state already hosts the country’s largest cluster of semiconductor and electronics firms, and the fund is meant to reach companies in their earliest growth years, when bank loans are hard to obtain and venture capital is scarce.
The initiative forms part of a wider effort to spread industrial development beyond the country’s established economic centres, The Sun noted.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow welcomed the government’s recognition of the state as a national technology finance centre. Anwar said the fund would support the state’s own efforts to develop its technology finance sector, EdgeProp reported.
The speech carried a run of regional industrial measures across the northern corridor. The government will strengthen Lumut Maritime Industrial City in Perak as a maritime hub, and develop the Automotive Hi-Tech Valley in Tanjong Malim as a regional automotive centre. Wholly locally owned automotive vendors relocating there will qualify for tax deductions of up to RM5 million on qualifying costs incurred between 1 January 2027 and 31 December 2030, NST said.
Kulim Hi-Tech Park in neighbouring Kedah will continue to be developed to draw global semiconductor investment, create skilled jobs and expand business opportunities for local companies. Together with the Penang fund, the measures put the state, Kedah and Perak under one regional industrial strategy, with the technology finance centre as its anchor.
The government has not set a launch date for the fund, and has not disclosed eligibility requirements, financing mechanisms, application procedures or the investment structure. Those details will be clarified by the relevant agencies, Fintech News Malaysia reported.
