GEORGE TOWN — Penang’s plan to turn part of Pulau Jerejak into a financial and lifestyle hub is being pitched as a way to give the state’s technology start-ups something they have long lacked — access to investors.
Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin said the proposed 32-hectare development could bring venture capitalists, private equity firms, bankers and technology investors closer to the engineers driving Penang’s semiconductor industry, The Star reported.
“Penang needs venture capitalists, private equity funds, bankers and technology investors to set up offices in one location so that they can interact with technology companies and potentially channel funding into new ventures,” he told reporters in Sungai Nibong yesterday.
Sim said Penang has about 20,000 integrated circuit design engineers, many of whom remain salaried employees because they lack investors to help them establish their own companies.
“Penang needs venture capitalists, private equity funds, bankers and technology investors to set up offices in one location so that they can interact with technology companies and potentially channel funding into new ventures,” he told reporters in Sungai Nibong yesterday.
Sim said Penang has about 20,000 integrated circuit design engineers, many of whom remain salaried employees because they lack investors to help them establish their own companies.
He said clustering investors and technology companies in one place could create the kind of interaction needed to turn engineering talent into new businesses, likening the proposed ecosystem to Silicon Valley in the US.
