Penang Yet To Decide On Zoning, Location For Proposed Financial Centre - Chow

GEORGE TOWN, Jan 26 (Bernama) — The Penang state government has announced that it has yet to make any decisions, including on zoning and location, for the proposed establishment of the Penang International Financial Centre (PIFC), despite ongoing discussions with key regulators.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said in a statement today that discussions with Bank Negara Malaysia, the Securities Commission Malaysia, and the Labuan Financial Services Authority (LFSA) aim to ensure that any proposal put forward is innovative, legally compliant, upholds high integrity, and is aligned with the national Financial Sector Blueprint.

He said the effort is also crucial to avoid any overlap with existing value chains within the country’s financial sector.

“Positioning Penang as a financial hub is a long-term aspiration to strengthen the state’s economic foundations within a broader framework, namely to develop Penang into a competitive and high-impact regional technology innovation hub.

“Although the federal government has yet to finalise a comprehensive framework for this initiative, the state government, through its think tank Penang Institute, remains committed to laying a strong foundation,” said Chow.

He also said engagement sessions with potential industry players will continue in phases and stages to build market confidence and assess the industry’s actual needs.

“Penang has unique strengths through its long-established ecosystem of high-technology industrial and manufacturing activities.

“As such, the state will focus on specialised financial segments such as digital assets, financial technology (fintech) and manufacturing-related financial services, including supply chain financing, trade, risk management and industrial innovation, as part of the direction for the establishment of the PIFC,” said Chow.

-- BERNAMA