Selangor selecting site for iconic global business centre

Exco Teng Chang Khim says this will make Selangor recognisable as the gateway to Asean and a global trading hub.

Teng-Chang-Khim-selangor SHAH ALAM: Selangor is in need of an iconic location to be better recognised as a regional and global trading hub.

“As it is now, we do not have such a place where people can identify Selangor as the gateway to Asean,” said Selangor senior executive councillor Teng Chang Khim.

He expressed the idea of developing a business centre to make Selangor recognisable and well known.

However, he said the most challenging part of long-term strategic planning for the state was sustaining the investments coming into Selangor.

He was speaking to the press on the sidelines of the Selangor-Asean Business Conference 2017 here today.

Teng said development of the centre was still in the planning process.

“To develop our existing cities would be quite difficult. They were built much earlier and as such we need a new place.

“I would say Selangor still has land to develop a global commercial or business centre,” he said.

Earlier, Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali delivered his keynote address at the conference.

Azmin vouched for Selangor’s business-friendly approach to investors, saying the policy placed a big premium on governance, accountability and transparency in dealings.

Azmin said the state administration adopted a policy of moderation and mutual respect, with the various races living in harmony.

Recent Department of Statistics data showed Selangor contributed 22.7% to Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP), putting it ahead of Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak, Johor, Penang and Sabah.

In 2015, Selangor contributed RM240 billion, or 22.6% of the national GDP, with an annual growth rate of 5.7%.

The Selangor-Asean Business Conference 2017 is the second component of the ongoing Selangor International Business Summit 2017.

The two-day conference features 22 local and international speakers from the public and private sectors. They will share insights into investment and business opportunities in Asean.