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Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers & Hong Kong's ASTRI sign MoU to promote smart manufacturing technology

Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers & Hong Kong's ASTRI sign MoU to promote smart manufacturing technology

"Together, we aim to support SMEs in their digital transformation journey, reskill talent, and foster stronger collaboration between Malaysia and Hong Kong in the field of Industry 4.0," Tan Sri Dato’ Soh Thian Lai, President of FMM said.

The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) and Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on several initiatives.

In particular, the partnership, sealed on 8 November 2024, will cover the following:  

  • promote smart manufacturing technology development and application,
  • facilitate business matching between FMM members and ASTRI, and  
  • explore opportunities in research and development (R&D) projects. 

In addition, knowledge sharing events will also be organised to provide insight on current technology trends, raise awareness on IoT applications, and build technical skills and capabilities among FMM members.   

The MoU was signed by Tan Sri Dato’ Soh Thian Lai, President of FMM and Sunny Lee, Board Chairman of ASTRI, witnessed by Jacob Lee, Chairman of FMM Industry 4.0 and Digital Economy Committee and Libera Cheng, Director General of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta. 

Tan Sri Dato’ Soh Thian Lai, President of FMM shared: "To ensure Malaysian manufacturers take the leap of change and future-proof themselves, FMM and ASTRI have enhanced our partnership to promote smart manufacturing technology.  

"Together, we aim to support SMEs in their digital transformation journey, reskill talent, and foster stronger collaboration between Malaysia and Hong Kong in the field of Industry 4.0." 

On a similar topic, the recent APEC Summit 2024 saw Malaysia and New Zealand on 10-16 November saw both countries meeting to discuss their economic relations. 

As Tengku Zafrul, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) shared in a Facebook post, Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim and Prime Minister of New Zealand Christopher Luxon noted that bilateral trade amounted to USD2.54bn (RM11.56bn) in the past year, a 3.3% frim 2022. 

In terms of investment, Tengku Zafrul shared that until June 2024, as many as 24 manufacturing projects with New Zealand's participation have been implemented in Malaysia, with a total investment of USD23.80mn (RM80mn), therefore contributing to the creation of 1,134 job opportunities, showcasing a positive impact on New Zealand's investment. 

"YAB PM and his counterparts also agree to increase cooperation in various fields, including education, Information Technology (IT), engineering, agriculture, as well as halal industry," Tengku Zafrul added.  


READ MORE: Malaysia's MARA Corp and Beijing's Honeycomb Aerospace Technologies sign MoU on technology knowledge transfer

Lead image / FMM

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