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Industrial parks are creating new opportunities for investment and cross-border collaboration. At the Selangor International Business Summit (SIBS), SPARK 2026 exhibitors discuss industrial development, investment prospects and partnerships across the region.
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Catch Investment Insider on Monday, 2 November 2026 at 9.00 PM on Astro AWANI 501.
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00:13Welcome to Investment Insider, brought to you by Invest Selangor, where we look at investing in Selangor's next decade.
00:20I'm Fana Shea, and we are here at Selangor International Business Summit 2026, where Selangor Investment and Industrial Park Expo,
00:29or SPARC, brings together industry players to showcase the opportunities for businesses to establish, expand, and connect across Southeast Asia.
00:38Today, we'll be talking to exhibitors to find out what they bring to the table and how they can support
00:43Selangor's next phase of investment growth.
00:47I am joined by Mr. Jeffrey Ikwan Marief, Director of Commercial and Development from PT, Surabaya Industrial Estate, Rungkut, or
00:56SIER, from East Java, representing Indonesia's industrial estate sector.
01:01Thank you so much for joining us, Mr. Ikwan.
01:03Now, let's start with SIER. Could you briefly introduce to us what SIER is and what your industrial estate offers
01:10to companies looking to establish or expand their operations, and what distinguishes you from the rest?
01:17PT, Surabaya Industrial Estate, Rungkut, we call SIER.
01:21It was established for 1974, and this is a leading industrial estate developer and managed in East Java, managing over
01:321,000 hectares in two locations in Surabaya and Pasuruan.
01:38Our competitive, we have a primary accessibility.
01:42Our most distinct factor is direct toll road passing throughout the heart of our estate.
01:51We offer ready to build industrial land, plot, and well-standard factory building.
01:58We have our state are fully support of integrated utilities, include modern wastewater treatment, logistic service, fiber optic connectivity, and
02:09clean water supply, and industrial gas infrastructure.
02:12So, SIER is ready to be a most effective strategic partner, and letting pet the companies to look for established
02:20to expand their business operating in Indonesia.
02:23Right.
02:24And I think that, you know, that purpose of expansion is why you're here at Spark today, at SIPS today
02:31representing Indonesia's industrial estate.
02:34Great. Now, do you mind explaining to me a little bit your inspiration or your motivation behind being here today?
02:40What are you hoping to explore at Spark 2026, and what do you hope to gain from being here at
02:44SIPS?
02:45In Spark 2026, it's the first time my company joined this event.
02:52Our main goal is to engage with Malaysian investors to expand to Indonesia, and present our industrial solution.
03:02Ultimately, we hope to formalize MOU-LOI with Malaysian investors today.
03:10Right. So, looking specifically at, you know, this connectivity that you want from Malaysia and Indonesia,
03:16where do you see the most practical opportunities for collaboration between SIER and also Selangor-based companies here in Malaysia,
03:24or even industrial developers here?
03:26Are there any specific partnership opportunities that you're looking for?
03:30This moment, there are many visitors at our boot press representative.
03:36The manufacturing gas, F&B, tobacco, we see create a potential different investment in SIER.
03:43Maybe I, from this moment, with bank, OCBC, and my bank will be, maybe, in this Friday, will be signed
03:54to MOU
03:55to give some information about customer, about my bank, OCBC, to join with our company.
04:04Besides that, are there any other potential areas or collaborations that you're looking for?
04:09Maybe further down the pipeline?
04:10I have two locations in Surabaya and Pasuruan, and I, my, my, my company will be provide some location in
04:21East Java,
04:22maybe two or three locations in East Java.
04:25Maybe the new one, I will provide with my bank or OCBC.
04:30Right. That's definitely more exciting opportunities out there for SIER and Malaysia,
04:35and even Selangor-based companies to connect.
04:38Now, I want to talk more about this collaboration that we're looking to explore, right?
04:42For companies looking to expand across Southeast Asia, not just Indonesia, but maybe somewhere else as well,
04:48how can industrial estates in Indonesia and Malaysia complement one another
04:52and create opportunities for cross-border businesses?
04:56In SIER, I have, maybe, I established in 1974, so we have over 50 years.
05:07We, we, we, we, we can guarantee to our tenant or maybe investor from Malaysian.
05:18I have complicated facilities can we build, provide with investor.
05:25So I think that is to, can be interest to Malaysian or maybe international investor to join with us.
05:35Right. And I'm sure there's a lot of interesting opportunities that SIER has to offer.
05:40And also, Selangor-based companies has to offer.
05:42And there's a lot of meaningful ways that we can collaborate and have meaningful partnership along the way.
05:48Thank you so much for joining us, Mr. Yee Kwan.
05:50Welcome.
05:53From Indonesia's industrial estate landscape, let's turn the investment opportunities closer to home.
05:58We turn to Selangor, where industrial development and infrastructure continue to shape opportunities for investors
06:04with worldwide holdings.
06:07Now, we have with us today, Encik Ahmad Zaki Ahmad Zainuddin, Group CEO of Worldwide Holdings Berhad.
06:13Thank you so much for joining us, Encik Zaki.
06:15Thank you for having me here.
06:16Right.
06:16So we want to talk a little bit about, you know, worldwide holdings and its offerings and its opportunities,
06:21but also on the environment and sustainability side.
06:24So maybe we start with, how does Worldwide Holding Berhad support the development of sustainable industrial ecosystem here in Selangor,
06:32particularly in balancing environmental sustainability and also industrial growth?
06:37A bit hard question for the first one, but I think you can manage.
06:41Certainly.
06:41I mean, we are supporting the growth of industrial, I mean, growth in Selangor and of course also for the
06:46nation.
06:47And Worldwide Holdings is actively involved in several vectors, I would say.
06:51First of all would be the energy vectors and as well renewable energy, integrated waste management,
06:56property plus medical devices.
06:58But I want to touch more on the energy side.
07:00Right.
07:01So we are actually developing quite a few projects in line in terms of renewable energy.
07:06And also we are converting renewable energy into new energy such as hydrogen and some other biomass energy vectors.
07:13And this is how we actually support the growth of sustainable Selangor,
07:16in which we operate already four hydropower stations in Selangor.
07:23We are also constructing about 300 megawatt of large-scale solar plant in Besarijaya,
07:29which is also using, potentially using actually unused land, which is a water body in Besarijaya.
07:38And also we're looking at some of the investment in terms of biomass and the rest of potential green energy
07:45in Selangor.
07:45So this is how actually we catalyze the growth for industrial in Selangor,
07:49in which most of the investors are looking what sort of green energy resources,
07:54which is available in the location where they are investing.
07:56And we are supporting this growth with providing the green energy that they need.
08:01So that's how actually Worldwide is actively involved at Women.
08:04Right. I'd like to know more a bit about this collaboration or rather, you know,
08:10how we balance industrial growth and environmental sustainability.
08:13What sort of challenges does Worldwide Holdings face when, you know,
08:17they try to balance this kind of the need to go for profit per se
08:21and the need to ensure that we remain green?
08:24Yeah. I think it's a clear challenge because green energy is costly.
08:28Yeah. And I mean, certain type of investor will look at green energy as additional cost
08:34or increasing cost of investment.
08:36But we provide different kind of value in Selangor here.
08:39It's not just for the sake of providing energy,
08:42but we're providing energy responsibly.
08:45And looking at that angle as well, in our waste management system,
08:48our waste management business, we are actually converting even waste into energy.
08:52So we do have already plant running in Jaram,
08:55capable of converting 1,500 tonnes of waste into energy,
09:00about 26 megawatt of energy being generated from that plant number one.
09:04Second plant will be up running at the end of this year,
09:07which will also capacity of another 1,500 tonnes of waste per day,
09:11which converts another 26 megawatt.
09:12And total capacity at the end of this year will be 52 megawatt.
09:15And this 52 megawatt of power is actually in terms of green energy.
09:19And it's quite valuable for some investor,
09:21which is especially coming from Europe and also Western countries,
09:25where they're required to report all their carbon and everything back to their headquarters.
09:30And this is where actually we have a niche, specific niche,
09:32where we can supply directly this green energy to the investor,
09:35which not just only bring profitability for them,
09:37but also it's supporting of sustainability in the state.
09:41Right.
09:41Yeah.
09:42That's amazing.
09:43I mean, Worldwide Holding is already a brand name.
09:45You know, it's already a leading player in the industry.
09:47And looking at the environmental sustainability practices is quite inspiring to hear, I feel.
09:53You are here at SIPPS today, representing, we know, one of the Spark 2026 exhibitors.
09:58Do you mind sharing with me a little bit why you are here?
10:01What opportunities are you trying to explore?
10:03Yeah, we are actually trying here to actually showcase our capability in terms of,
10:07yeah, I mentioned already about converting waste into energy.
10:10It's very exciting because we are actually leading here in the country.
10:13We are the largest developer and operator of waste-to-energy plant currently in the country.
10:18We are also, at the same time, in several other renewable energy vectors
10:22that I clearly mentioned earlier on.
10:24And we're doing more of that.
10:25It doesn't stop here.
10:26We're investing also furthermore.
10:28We are also connecting with several other investors
10:31which would like to actually invest together with us
10:33to develop furthermore green energy and also green initiative in the state.
10:37And with attracting of these partners and such,
10:39we also encourage them to invest and also position themselves here in the state.
10:44So that's what has happened in the last two days.
10:47We have quite a lot of engagements already with technology partner,
10:51possible investor, as well as, I mean,
10:54we are also collaborating together within the Selangor State companies as well,
10:58which is also very healthy for us here.
11:00That's awesome to hear.
11:01Now, what opportunities does Worldwide Holdings see for collaboration with investors,
11:07technology providers and industry partners
11:09to advance sustainable energy and environmental solutions here in Selangor?
11:13Maybe looking ahead a little bit, any areas of collaboration, partnership,
11:17maybe something down in the pipeline?
11:19Yeah, I think I could certainly mention a couple of projects which is already in line here.
11:24I think you're all aware about Raja Gan Selangor kedua.
11:27So pretty much we are actually developing Pulau Kerry, right?
11:30We're also going to be having an additional port or trading port in Pulau Kerry.
11:35We're looking at how we can actually utilize this current project which is in the pipeline
11:40to actually make this area cleaner, more sustainable, more efficient.
11:45We did a partnership with our technology partner.
11:48We're also investor and also to actually unlock further value with the project
11:52that is actually upcoming here in Selangor.
11:54So certainly excited for this.
11:56It's exciting times and I'm glad to also be here
11:59together with the whole worldwide team and also the Selangor State government as well.
12:02Right.
12:03I want to end with a little piece of advice.
12:06Maybe for smaller companies or companies that are looking to establish themselves
12:09with regard to environmental and sustainability practices.
12:12Obviously, Worldwide Holdings are already championing a lot of the measures
12:16and activities with regards, you know, on this front.
12:20Do you have any advice for those who want to start?
12:23Start today.
12:24I mean, don't wait for tomorrow, right?
12:26I mean, if we don't start today, how are we going to go green?
12:29I mean, there's no one party who actually champion this alone.
12:31We have to work on this together.
12:33We breathe the same air.
12:34So let's start today.
12:35Don't wait until tomorrow.
12:36If any parties would like to partner with us, we welcome any parties to partner with us
12:40because this is actually a big effort.
12:42Everybody has to be involved.
12:43And I'm happy also to collaborate with any parties to actually achieve our goal.
12:47With regards to strengthening support,
12:50would agencies like Invest Langor or other stakeholders,
12:53do you see them playing a bigger part in championing this?
12:55Definitely.
12:56I mean, we work closely together with Invest Langor to look at partnership,
12:59to look at localisation, transfer of technology,
13:02and also to build talent in the state as well.
13:05And Invest Langor is really facilitating this for us
13:07and also to the rest of the state agencies and other companies.
13:10And we are really proud to actually be partnering.
13:12And we're really part of our team here in Selangor
13:13and we're doing really, really well.
13:15And we can actually progress further and fully achieve what we want to arrive to, insyaAllah.
13:20Do you see Selangor as, you know, in its next phase of growth
13:23as the number one destination, not just for investment opportunities,
13:26but also for, you know, sustainable practices?
13:30Definitely.
13:30I mean, Selangor is a, I mean, a huge stage.
13:33I mean, this is where I think the demand for energy,
13:37the demand for sustainability is here.
13:38Without Selangor turning green, Malaysia couldn't turn green as well.
13:42And not just only for sustainability,
13:44there's a lot of other exciting things here in Selangor.
13:46We have RS Racengah Selangor kedua,
13:49which is actually placing a lot of exciting
13:50and also promising projects upcoming for Selangor.
13:54We are always also the number one state
13:57wherever investor comes into Malaysia.
14:00And now also we are branding ourselves at the gateway to ASEAN.
14:03So, yeah.
14:04But I think, you know,
14:06Selangor is already, you know,
14:08the number one destination for investment here in Malaysia.
14:11And I think with companies such as yourself,
14:14World Holdings championing environmental and sustainable practices.
14:17And I think we can go further than that, right?
14:19The only way is up.
14:21I think that's the correct point.
14:21The only way is up, but we go up responsibly, insyaAllah.
14:24I think that's right.
14:24It's a very nice way to put it.
14:25I think that's all the time we have.
14:26Thank you so much, Ancik Zaki.
14:29And after the break,
14:29we'll continue our coverage of Spark 2026
14:31and explore investment opportunities in Pahang.
14:34So, stay tuned for that.
14:52Hello and welcome back to Investment Insider.
14:55And we're continuing our coverage here at Spark 2026
14:58from Selangor International Business Summit here in Kuala Lumpur.
15:02And joining us now is
15:04Datuk Mohamad Nizar, Datuk Sri Mohamad Najib,
15:07Ex-Co for Investment, Industrial Development,
15:10Science, Technology and Innovation for Invest Pahang.
15:13Now, that's a mouthful for me to start with.
15:15Thank you so much for joining us today, Datuk.
15:18It's my pleasure.
15:19Thanks for having me.
15:20Right.
15:20We want to talk.
15:21So, further before this,
15:24we talked about investment opportunities here in Selangor.
15:27We even talked about investment opportunities in Indonesia.
15:29Now, we want to explore what's in Pahang, essentially.
15:32So, maybe we can start there.
15:33So, for companies looking to establish or expand their operations in Malaysia,
15:37what are the key sectors and areas or investment opportunities that Pahang has to offer?
15:43Right.
15:43Thanks for having me.
15:45I would say now is the best time to be investing in Pahang.
15:50Why?
15:50Because everything is starting to come together in terms of infrastructure.
15:55We're getting the East Coast Railway line that's coming on stream by December.
15:59And we are building our new airport.
16:03We have development plans in place to have an airport building complex in Geerbeng as well.
16:10And on top of that, we also have the Central Spine Road cutting across Pahang Barat, Western Pahang.
16:20And I'm sure this infrastructure play will open up a lot of areas within Pahang.
16:30And we've just completed our Pahang Economic Transformation Plan 2030.
16:35And we've identified focus areas for potential investors and playing to Pahang's true strengths as a state.
16:44So we've identified transit-oriented development, for instance.
16:49We have seven ECRL stations within Pahang.
16:51So we wish to invite investors to build around those stations.
16:55They can be commercial developments, hospitals, industrial parks, so on and so forth.
17:02We're focusing on electronic vehicles and automobile and mobility since we have an automotive hub in Pekan.
17:11And also an automotive ecosystem within Geerbeng.
17:18We have some factories coming up there.
17:20Aside from that, tourism and ecotourism, agriculture and food security,
17:27we believe Pahang should play a prominent role in ensuring that the nation is secure
17:32when it comes to our food requirements for the rakyat.
17:37Other focus areas include advanced materials, things like graphene, lithium,
17:48and we already have the Linus plant in Geerbeng, processing rare earth.
17:54What else?
17:55Last but not least, renewable energy where you can do things like pump hydro, solar technologies,
18:03BASS batteries, and even pump hydro if the landscape allows for it.
18:14So those are the key focus areas.
18:17Pahang is the Peninsula Malaysia's biggest state, but so far largely untapped.
18:23Huge and promising potential.
18:25You know, welcome everybody to venture into Pahang to invest.
18:29And it seems that there are a lot of offerings as well that InvestPahang is managing.
18:33You know, from renewable energy to infrastructure, there's so many to look for.
18:41You are here today at Spark 2026 here at SIPS.
18:45I want to ask a little bit about, you know, your motivation here
18:48and what role do you think platforms such as Spark 2026 plays in promoting investment
18:55not just in Selangor but also elsewhere as well?
19:00Yeah, this is a great platform for us, the Selangor International Business Summit and also Sparks.
19:06For one, it's a platform where we can meet potential investors domestically and as well as overseas.
19:16We get to see the best business models when it comes to industrial parks.
19:23And we get to see the latest in terms of industrial technology.
19:30And I was also passing through startups role.
19:34Yeah, that's plenty.
19:36A number of startups with many emerging technologies which we can look at.
19:43Yeah, so many things under one roof.
19:46So it's a great place for us to market and promote Pahang as an investment destination.
19:54So this is our fourth year.
19:56We've been here four years in a row.
19:58Yeah, so yes.
20:00Right, that's amazing.
20:01I mean, obviously a platform like Spark 2026 that has been, you know, a yearly thing.
20:09A lot of investors look forward to it.
20:11A lot of businesses are here to explore opportunities.
20:13And a lot of companies are also looking for ways to expand and ways to collaborate with, you know, other
20:19agencies.
20:20So I think it's the prime time to be here.
20:22And everyone wants to be here at SIPS, you know, year in, year out, right?
20:27I want to talk a little bit about collaboration and partnership here.
20:30So obviously, Selangor already offers an established industrial and business ecosystem.
20:36But like you mentioned just now, Pahang also has its own investment opportunities.
20:40Although you may mention a lot of it is untapped, but there's already a lot that you mentioned just now
20:44that are already ongoing, right?
20:46How can businesses or companies actually explore opportunities in both states to support their expansion and supply chain needs?
20:55I would say there's plenty of avenues for collaboration.
21:02One great example I can give is the East Coast Railway Line.
21:07Right.
21:07So it's meant to be a land bridge between the two ports, Port Clang and also Port of Kuantan.
21:17So in theory, you can either put up your factory on either side of the land bridge.
21:23You can put up your factory, for instance, in Kuantan.
21:27And you use the East Coast Railway Line, which is meant to be 70% cargo, by the way, to
21:35ship your goods either side.
21:37So if you have a factory in Kuantan, you could be shipping your products through Kuantan Port, going to North
21:47Asia, to Korea, Japan, and China,
21:50or the surrounding ASEAN countries, Indonesia, Philippines, Borneo even, so on and so forth.
21:56Or you could choose to ship the goods from Kuantan using the East Coast Railway Line all the way to
22:03Port Clang.
22:04And I'm told the Port Clang phase will be ready by 2029.
22:09For now, it's up till Gombak in Dezember.
22:13But come 2029, you'll get the railway line full expansion.
22:18That's right.
22:19And you can ship your goods from Kuantan to Port Clang through the Straits of Melaka.
22:24You could be exporting to the Middle East, Europe, America, and beyond, wherever you want to go.
22:32So that's one great example.
22:35We have to make use of this big infrastructure that's currently in play, so that we will get the best
22:43of both worlds.
22:43And I think we can complement each other in many areas.
22:48For instance, we're building our new airport, that's meant to be ready by 2031.
22:55And that's aerospace, and that's meant to be an aerospace and MRO development component there.
23:02So this is where we can complement Selangor.
23:06So Selangor is a leading industrial state for aeronautical engineering, maintenance repair, overhaul, and so on and so forth.
23:16So we can leverage on that in terms of exchanging ideas or some of the things they can't do,
23:24we can take on at the new development complex.
23:29And perhaps we could pass on some investments to Selangor.
23:33It's in the semiconductor area where we don't have any footprint or ecosystem.
23:40So Selangor is heading that way, building integrated circuit complex.
23:44I mean, there's definitely a lot of potential areas of collaboration there.
23:49And I think, you know, it's one thing that we are all looking forward to,
23:52and we are all, you know, having our eyes on that for very near future, right?
23:58Absolutely.
23:59We are almost at the end of our time, but I have one more last question.
24:04Maybe we can look at wider Malaysia or across different states.
24:07How can collaboration between investment agencies and industrial park developers
24:13help Malaysia attract more investors and create stronger business opportunities across different states
24:19and for the wider Malaysia because, you know, we, you know, in Selangor,
24:24we are already seen as, you know, investor-friendly or the investment destination,
24:30and Pahang is also there as well.
24:32But we want to up the whole Malaysia.
24:34What's your thoughts on this?
24:35My personal opinion is that we have to be the best in class in terms of facilitating the ease of
24:44doing business.
24:45At the end of the day, our investors, above all, I believe they want facilitation.
24:51So they want fast processes, clear guidelines, no ambiguity, and fast decision making.
24:59So the agencies and the industrial park managers, they have to facilitate this ease of doing business.
25:07That's of paramount importance.
25:10And secondly, and it's no less important too, is getting the infrastructure ready.
25:18So the ideal industrial park would be where investors can, how do you say, just plug and play.
25:25They just can come in and set up their factory or businesses with minimal costs.
25:31As with the infra is ready.
25:35And if we can do so, we build factory buildings or premises according to their specifications.
25:44So, you know, they can come in and, how do you say, hit the ground running without any delays or
25:53worry.
25:54And as a bonus, we have tax incentives or other land incentives which will be the sweetener for these investors.
26:06If we can get all these elements into play, I think we stand a great chance to attract a high
26:12quality investment.
26:14Because we must remember, we are actually competing with other countries for investment as well, especially in ASEAN, right?
26:23So we have to up the ante when it comes to facilitation.
26:28Otherwise, they have other choices too.
26:29They can easily go to the neighboring countries.
26:31So if we don't so-called get our act together in those areas.
26:36Infrastructure readiness, and you mentioned just now ease of doing business.
26:40And I think that ease of doing business especially, you know, when we talk to different-different investors,
26:45it's about faster approvals, faster decision making, and faster processes.
26:49And I think you capture that right at the heart of it, you know, making sure that these are already
26:54at play
26:55to ensure that Selangor, Pahang, and Malaysia is the investment destination for everyone across the world.
27:03So thank you so much, Dato, for your time.
27:05I think that's all the time we have on Investment Insider.
27:08So thank you for watching.
27:09I'm your host, Fah Nashay.
27:10See you again.
27:11See you again.
27:49See you again.
28:13See you again.