Collaborations with investors and creative funding are vital for Malaysia’s sustainable bioeconomy

Kuala Lumpur, 18 December 2015 – Malaysia’s growing bioeconomy development promises positive economic impact to the community and the nation, as highlighted during the Bioeconomy Investment Networking Session 2015. Held in Corus Hotel Kuala Lumpur and organised by Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation Sdn Bhd (BiotechCorp), the event seeks to create awareness among financial institutions, venture capitalists, crowd funders, corridors, government agencies and fund managers on Malaysia’s bioeconomy programmes as well as other initiatives by BiotechCorp. The event also gives the opportunity for investors to take part in the bio-based industry, one of the rapid emerging sectors in Malaysia.

Over 50 participants were updated on the current bioeconomy landscape and programmes run by BiotechCorp in Malaysia. Attendees included representatives from Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), Agrobank, Malaysia Venture Capital Berhad, Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) and Majlis Amanah Rakyat. Attendees were informed on the implementation of the country’s bioeconomy programmes, Bioeconomy Transformation Programme (BTP), Bioeconomy Community Development Programme (BCDP) as well as the BioNexus Programme which have contributed to Malaysia’s emerging bio-based industry.

“BiotechCorp has successfully secured investments close to RM25 billion as of September 2015, exceeding the National Bioectechnology Policy’s (NBP) target of RM9 billion. These include major investments by Genting Elevance in POIC Lahad Datu, Biocon from India, Verdezyne from the United States and Sunlight Inno Seafood with a combined investment value of about RM5 billion,” said Chief Executive Officer of BiotechCorp, Dato’ Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal. “BiotechCorp strives to promote bio-based investments and establish a functional funding framework for the bio-based industry. For the industry to grow, we need to have a funding ecosystem to address financing mechanisms for start-ups, mid-stage and late-stage companies.”
He added that a robust funding mechanism in Malaysia will help bio-based companies to advance from local to global status companies, accelerating the target of the third phase of NBP, which is to establish Malaysia as an internationally competitive player in bioeconomy. Dato’ Nazlee pointed out that Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), Domestic Direct Investments (DDIs) and participation from Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are also crucial to further stimulate growth of Malaysia’s bioeconomy. “The rising bio-based investments in Malaysia indicate that we are moving towards the right direction and I am positive of bioeconomy’s future in developing country,” he said.

The Bioeconomy Investment Networking Session is expected to catalyse more investments in the bio-based industry and address existing gaps in the financing landscape of bioeconomy sector. The event is also anticipated to attract more investors to participate in the BTP, BCDP and BioNexus Programme, which present great platforms to re-engineer Malaysia’s economic growth for greater business opportunities.