GEORGE TOWN (Sept 13, 2011): Penang plans to transform itself from a manufacturing-centric economy to one primarily driven by the tourism industry.

Speaking to a high-powered group of fund managers who collectively manage some US$100 billion (RM300 billion) in assets, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the long-term plan was to make tourism the driver of the state’s economy.

He said Penang wanted to maintain its edge in manufacturing but needed to nurture its services sector, so that tourism could contribute to more than 50% of the state’s GDP by 2020.

“We model ourselves after California where although it is a hub for high-technology industries, its economy is tourism-driven,” he said in his keynote address during the Penang Investment Seminar at the Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa today.

The seminar, organised by ECM Libra, included representatives from financial powerhouses like China Merchant Group, Oclaner Asset Management Pte Ltd, and Religare Capital Markets Corporate Finance Pte. Ltd.

At a press conference later, ECM Libra executive chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan said interest in the state was blooming due to the affluent Penang diaspora, citing as an example a US$10 billion fund based in China managed by a Penangnite.

He said attracting such people would show that Penang is back on the investment radar.

He added that many local companies were also interested in investing in the state.

Meanwhile, Lim said he hoped investors could look into the state’s hi-tech sector, the high value-added sector, knowledge intensive industries, services, as well as the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

“They (investors) see Penang is serious about transforming itself into an international and intelligent city,” he said.