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As the state's principal investment arm, MBI Selangor is turning economic strength into long-term value, from aerospace and data centres, to talent development. Group CEO Dato' Ts. Saipolyazan M Yusop shares how strategic investments and policy priorities are shaping opportunities for the state's future.
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00:14Contributing more than 26% of Malaysia's GDP in 2025, Selangor continues to power the nation's
00:21economy. But beyond the numbers, how does that growth translate into helping the state's 7.2
00:28million people thrive? For Menteri Bersa Selangor Incorporation as the state's principal investment
00:34arm, the answer lies in turning vision into impact. From aerospace and data centers to upskilling talent,
00:42its strategic roadmap is designed to drive long-term value with the target of RM8 billion
00:48in revenue by 2028. In this episode, we explore how MBI Selangor is turning policy priorities
00:56into commercially viable outcomes across strategic sectors.
01:02Hello, you're watching Investment Insider, brought to you by Invest Selangor, where we look at investing
01:08in the state's next decade. My name is Sinti Ng and I'm absolutely thrilled to be joined by
01:14technologist Dato Sepul Yazan M. Yusof, Group CEO of Menteri Bersa Selangor Incorporation,
01:20the state's principal investment arm. Thank you so much, Dato, for coming on the show.
01:25Truly an exciting time for Selangor. So many investments pouring in. But I do want to take
01:30a step back and look at the bigger picture. I want to start with RS2, the second Selangor plan,
01:36Rancangan Selangor kedua. This will guide Selangor's development from 2026 to 2030. Can you talk to us,
01:46what is the bigger ambition of this blueprint and how do you envision MBI will help translate that
01:52into tangible economic outcomes and development outcomes? Thank you, Cynthia. We started our
02:02RS1 in 2021 and we built RS1 based on recovery from COVID-19. Right. And
02:15when we started our RS2, basically, basically, this is a state Selangor government
02:22overarching development from blueprint from 2026 to 2030. And as you know, as Selangor as the center of
02:37investment in Malaysia, right? So our ambition, basically, to transform Selangor into globally competitive.
02:46We already a gateway of ASEAN now. And innovative, innovation-driven and sustainable economy. And at the same time,
02:54improving quality of life for Selangorian. And RS2 will deliver the mission. We have six strategic mission. And we have
03:07six
03:07projects. And MBI Selangor was mandated to focus on mission one and two. Right. And mission one, to help us
03:19to advance
03:20Selangor economy to economic leadership through high growth industries. At the same time, strategic investment. And mission two,
03:28basically, to promote balanced development, equitable opportunities across nine districts in Selangor
03:35through integrated development and stronger connectivity. And we, basically, in MBI Selangor, we are focusing on five
03:44interconnected areas. As you mentioned, water security, digital infrastructure, urban livability, aerospace and
03:52manufacturing and talent. And, basically, as a state investment arm, right? MBI brings together state
04:02assets. We have state assets, group of companies in Selangor. Private capital strategic partners to turn into
04:10investable, deliverable and scalable projects. And in practical, basically, this means accelerating digitalization, right?
04:22applying ESG or embedding ESG into development, developing future talent, building the infrastructure needed for
04:32Selangor next phase of growth. And the key state, basically, the key point, basically, is to set the direction of
04:40Selangor future, yeah? At the same time, MBI to play a role to change mission one and two to investable
04:50project and strengthen economic leadership and expand opportunities across every nine district in Selangor.
04:58There's certainly a lot to look forward to from 2026 to 2030. But I do want to go back to,
05:03before that, RS1. RS1, like you mentioned,
05:06this was during the pandemic and you came up so much stronger. What are some of the, what would you
05:13say
05:13are some of the clearest proof that RS1 has delivered that gives you the confidence to carry on with RS2?
05:22Okay, basically, people quite skeptical when state government announced our RS1. This is the first
05:29rancangan Selangor. I mean, rancangan at state level compared to RMK, now RMK 13, right? I think, although we have
05:38so many challenges
05:39before, but I mean, the figures show the proof that RS1 successfully implemented since 2021. If we see the record,
05:54right? The, the, the, the
05:57figure, uh, announced by Maida, um, between, uh, 2021 and 2024, uh, Selangor recorded average GDP of 7.9%, right?
06:09And above
06:09original target of 7%. State facilitated 61 billion in investment, exceeding the target by, uh, uh,
06:20uh, RMK 26 billion. And total employment reached 3.9 million around 300 above forecast. At the same time, uh,
06:31the
06:31uh, the momentum continued. In 2025, Selangor contributed 26.5% of Malaysia GDP. Uh, this is very big figure.
06:40Even the
06:41economic value, uh, uh, at 460.1 billion. And in terms of investment, uh, basically, uh, in 2024, uh, we
06:53managed to attract
06:541.01 billion of, uh, investment to Selangor. And we confident in, I think, next two, three years, uh, the,
07:05the economic of activity in
07:07Selangor will reach 500 billion. It's a outstanding figures. Yes, yes, it's a big figure. And, uh, as we mentioned,
07:14it's already 26.5% of, uh, Malaysian GDP. So, out of, uh, 100 ringgit, uh, economic activity,
07:2526.5 ringgit contributed by Selangor. Yeah, that. So, uh, uh, RS1, meaning that RS1 proved that Selangor can set
07:35very
07:35clear direction, right, objective, and we mobilize the ecosystem and deliver beyond our target, right?
07:43Why we manage to do this? Because of, um, uh, we have clear direction, right, structured implementation,
07:50and very disciplined monitoring. I like that you mentioned Selangor is the gateway to ASEAN,
07:55because previously we know Selangor is gateway to Malaysia, and now the ambition is far, far bigger.
08:00So, I want to bring in the key priorities that you mentioned earlier, right, which is the five, um,
08:05big things that you're focusing on. Water security, digital infrastructure,
08:09livability, urban livability, aerospace, manufacturing, big one, and talent. We'll get to that later,
08:15but, uh, the rest later. But I want to talk about talent, because having all these ambitions,
08:20ultimately you need the right people, the right talent. What's happening around the world,
08:26digital disruption, global uncertainty, um, all this against this background? How are you building a talent pipeline
08:33that's not just relevant now, but five years, ten years from now?
08:39All right. Um, we just cannot build our data center, right? Data center, uh, infrastructure.
08:49Those are just infrastructures? Yeah. All the infrastructures. We cannot just, uh, we, I mean,
08:54we cannot just build them without the talent, right? But, and we also cannot expect when we build the system,
09:00we build the infrastructure, we build data center, we build a water treatment plant,
09:05we build, uh, dark fiber in Selangor, and we expect talent will come to us. But, what we can do,
09:12basically,
09:12we can build the talent, we can, we can develop the talent, uh, before, right, to make sure that the
09:22talent ready for the infrastructure.
09:24So, what Selangor, uh, implement now, basically, we have our own, uh, training college, right? Uh, Selangor Technical Development, uh,
09:35Technical College, STDC. We have our own university, UNICEF, right? They are complement each other. And, uh,
09:42our STDC currently, uh, provide, um, industry skill, uh, our, our industry skill engine. We are providing technical training,
09:50TBED. We are also providing professional certification, uh, short program to, to certified people in electricity,
09:57in electrical, in, in, in, in mechanics, right? And, and we also, our STDCX, also ready to develop industry 4
10:07.0,
10:08uh, to, uh, enhance, or to, uh, develop, uh, our current, uh, and reskilling our current, uh, uh, talent in
10:16Selangor.
10:17And, um, uh, uh, we also cover, uh, cyber security. We, we, we have our own program with Apple, right?
10:26With Apple. We have our program with Zeeman. Uh, we have our program with, uh, uh, Festo.
10:33Uh, we have our program with DSOL. We have our program with PMW. This is how we want to make
10:39sure,
10:39not only to develop new talent, we also retrain or reskilling our current, uh, our current, uh, uh,
10:46workforce in Selangor, right? And, and at the same time, we improve our, their, their, their, their salary,
10:52their capability, and their marketability in, in, in the market. By having this good talent, uh, basically,
10:59we are ready for future, uh, future industry, for future development, for future investment in Selangor.
11:05You mentioned water. That's a very interesting point I want to pick on because you also mentioned data center.
11:12Water security is a big, uh, topic right now. Even it's, it's highly, um, debatable in terms of, you know,
11:20how we're investing, attracting investments from, uh, data centers. So data, people are building data centers.
11:26So I want to talk about your view about how MBI Selangor sees our water, not just as an utility.
11:31You know, people come in, use our land, use our water, but how are you using water or envisioning water
11:37to turn it into, uh, something that can actually support investment and growth?
11:43Okay, um, we have our own water company, right, Ayu Selangor. Um, we are providing services to 2.4 million
11:52account
11:53in Selangor, uh, Kuala Lumpur, and also Putrajaya. And, yeah, we understand, um, data center, they start moving to Selangor.
12:01Even as of today, I think we, we approve, we and, uh, federal government approve 40, 40 number of
12:09data center in Selangor, right? Um, and data, uh, data center, they draw, they use a lot of water, right?
12:17That's why they move to Selangor because they know our water stable, our water supply stable, and we have
12:22reserve margin of 18%, right? Uh, and our, our, even we, we, after we implement so many projects to improve
12:31our water services, water supply system, we, uh, we managed to reduce our, our non-revenue water NRW now to
12:3926.8%,
12:40which is recognized by SPAN, uh, in, in federal, right? And at the same time, how we develop the, the
12:49overall, um,
12:51um, um, ecosystem for water and turn it into investable, uh, uh, businesses, or, uh, to attract more
13:01investors to come to Selangor. Uh, we, uh, we have our own, uh, uh, subsidiary by the name of ILSI,
13:10right? Uh, why we have ILSI?
13:12We want to recycle water for, for especially factory, uh, uh, uh, use a lot of water, uh, for example,
13:21uh, industry of glove, right?
13:23They use a lot of water. By providing these services, uh, ILSI will recycle 70 to 80% of the
13:30water and supply to back to the, to the, to the, to the factory.
13:36Automatically, by, by, by having this, this, uh, ILSI, uh, we reduce the dependency to ILSI to provide, uh, 70
13:47or 80% of the requirement of the factory, right?
13:50And we can use this, this water for the data center. Right.
13:54At the same time, we also, uh, introduce what we call, uh, to, to provide green energy to our water
14:03industry, right?
14:04We, so we form one company by the name of Heliocell. Um, and currently, Heliocell managed to generate around 34,
14:1235 megawatt of electricity to ILSI.
14:17At the same time, we, we're going to, uh, we're going to launch our first water treatment plant 100%
14:25using solar.
14:25So, this is our net zero, uh, water, water treatment plant. So, um, uh, basically, we try to, and, uh,
14:33the, the other company that we formed in Selangor, basically, by the name of Cubic Meter,
14:38to provide smart meter, uh, uh, uh, solution for, for ILSI and also for two or three other states, right?
14:48Why we use smart meter? We use smart meter, number one, to, to improve our, our efficiency in terms of,
14:54uh, the, the, the, uh, the reading of the meter, right?
14:59Uh, accuracy of the reading. Number two, basically, to detect our, our leakage, our leakage in the pipe.
15:07By having this smart meter, that's why, one of the reasons we managed to reduce our NRW because of the,
15:13the, the, the smart meter, right?
15:15Yeah, by the visibility on what goes on.
15:17And, and, and, and one of the areas we managed to reduce to single digit, right?
15:22So, by having all this solution from ILSI, Heliocell, we have Cubic Meter, we have, uh, uh, uh, ILSI, right?
15:32So, we, we, we provide the whole ecosystem of water.
15:35So, we are not worried. They can, they can, they can come over, over Selangor.
15:40We can provide the services, not only for the water.
15:42We also can recycle. We can provide technology of recycle to, to the data center.
15:48And, uh, we can also export our capability.
15:51We start talking to Kazakhstan, for example, and we also, uh, will, uh, also embark to Uzbekistan to provide our
15:58service.
15:58And, uh, currently, our, one of our subsidies also, uh, moving to, uh, Labuan, to Kedah, to Terengganu, and also
16:06to Johor.
16:07So...
16:07That's certainly very exciting, especially for multinationals looking at their RE100 commitments, for instance, right?
16:14Yes, yes, yes.
16:14So, just quickly, before, uh, we wrap up this segment, because, um, one of the, another interesting thing that you
16:19mentioned is aerospace manufacturing.
16:21Um, how big is the ambition here? Are you looking to position Selangor as a regional component hub, or is
16:27the ambition bigger than that?
16:29KLA International Airport in Selangor, although the name is KL, right?
16:33Yeah.
16:33So, in Selangor. We have Subang, uh, right? And, and 70% of our ecosystem, aerospace ecosystem, is in Selangor,
16:41right?
16:42And, um, in KLA, we have, um, MAB engineering, right? We have Sepang Aircraft Engineering by Airbus.
16:50We have ADE Support Maintenance Activities. In Subang, we have Air Rod Group.
16:53We have, uh, Base Maintenance, BMM. Uh, we have also, um, uh, uh, helicopter MRO in Subang, right?
17:02So, also, we also moving to high value segment of aerospace.
17:07Call in Aerospace investing, uh, USD 63 million, uh, in Subang facilities to quadruple their services in, in, as, uh,
17:17uh, regional hub, uh, and also GE Aerospace.
17:20They, uh, I think they support more than 50, uh, uh, airlines worldwide. And they are in Malaysia. And they,
17:28they, they, they, they, they, they have 700 skilled workers, uh, working with them.
17:32And UMW Aerospace, they have our, they are factory in Selangor, in Serendah. So, they are providing services as a
17:40rear, rear cover for the, uh, Roll Royce engine, right? Uh, for Global Trend Engine Program.
17:48They are, they are the only supplier for white, white body engine, right? At the same time, we, our next
17:55step, basically, we are developing, uh, uh, Selangor Aeropark at KLIA Aeropolis.
18:01About 600 acres of development. And the first 100 acres already secured by GE for their MRO and for their
18:08aerospace, uh, uh, aerospace, uh, activities.
18:11And we also, uh, we signed with SD Guthrie, uh, and I signed with SD Guthrie as land owner to
18:19develop 3,000 acres next to, uh, Selangor Aeropark, SAP.
18:23So, hopefully, this become our support system to complement the development of Selangor Aeropark by providing, for example, logistic, uh,
18:33uh, supply chain for aerospace.
18:34So, hopefully, by having this, uh, this, uh, this plan, right? Uh, so, we can, can make Selangor as the,
18:43uh, center of aviation for ASEAN.
18:46That's a big ambition, and you're not short of investment and interest.
18:50Yes, and talent, and talent.
18:51And talent as well. Okay. Yes.
18:53Dato, we'll take a quick break, uh, right now, but when we come back, we will take a closer look
18:57at what, uh, makes these opportunities investable,
19:01and the ecosystem that is powering those, uh, investments. We'll take a short break, we'll be back in a bit.
19:23Welcome back to Investment Insider, brought to you by Invest Selangor.
19:27On the show with me today is technologist, Dato Saibu Yazan M. Yusuf,
19:32Group CEO of Mandri Besar Selangor Incorporation as we talk about investment opportunities in this state.
19:39And, uh, thank you so much, Dato, once again, uh, for joining me.
19:42When we talk about investments, um, it, it, it doesn't happen overnight.
19:46You know, people make decisions 5, 10, 20 years ahead.
19:49Uh, however, um, in, in economic cycle happens, um, all the time.
19:55There are ups, there are downs, but what, uh, is for sure is that economic cycles tend to reward those
20:02who prepare early.
20:03So, going to my next point, uh, what is MBI Selangor doing now that may not necessarily be visible today,
20:11but is actually positioned the state for the next investment or economic growth cycle?
20:16Okay, um, uh, playing the long game means, uh, we have to prepare the foundation for future, right?
20:25Before the next wave of demand arrives. Um, uh, uh, uh, we do not want investors when they arrive here,
20:33right?
20:34They arrive here, right? They arrive here, land not ready, infrastructure not ready, talent not ready.
20:38So, for example, in terms of water industry, uh, we started our RASA water supply scheme, uh, as one of
20:46our example, uh, our way forward to, uh, for our readiness in the future.
20:51Uh, stage one, we expected to add 700 million liter a day to our, our grid, water grid by June
21:002027.
21:00And, uh, uh, insya Allah, if both stages completed by 2030, uh, the whole capacity of the water treatment plant
21:09will be 1,400 million liter a day, right?
21:13So, at the same time, um, how to address requirement of data center, for example.
21:19So, we have our own plan. For now, we started our, under our subsidiary SmartSell, uh, 100% owned company.
21:27We, we built, uh, 42 kilometers of dark fiber in Cyberjaya.
21:33So, we plan to have our own dark fiber for the whole Selangor, 889 kilometers.
21:38So, this is our, one of our readiness for future or for any data center plant in Selangor.
21:45Uh, at the same time, um, uh, MBI Selangor, we signed with SDG3, uh, uh, for 2,500 to 3
21:54,000 acres of land in KLIA.
21:56In Sepang, just next to our KLIA.
21:59So, our plan, basically, um, uh, mentioned by federal for, for, for, for our country to be one of the
22:06integrated logistic area for us, yeah?
22:09So, we are ready for this, right?
22:11So, we plan to have a training center, uh, we have to have supply chain integrated logistic.
22:18At the same time, we want to provide sustainable, liveable township in, in, in, in that area.
22:25Uh, at the same time, we also, uh, started our, what we call, IC Design Park.
22:31We have the first one in Puchong, number two in Cyberjaya, and, uh, all fully subscribed by international or local,
22:38uh, IC Design Company.
22:40And, uh, we already trained 300 to 400 engineers, uh, in this area.
22:46Hopefully, in the future, instead of, uh, made in Malaysia, we can produce IC made by Malaysians, right?
22:54And, uh, hopefully by having this, we can, uh, prepare our talent, uh, high salary talent, right?
23:01And, uh, capable and, uh, highly, uh, skilled in, uh, in the semiconductor industry.
23:09So, hopefully, uh, by prepare early, uh, we can address future bottleneck, ensure Selangor are ready when a next major
23:17investment decision is made,
23:19and when, uh, new investment or new technology coming to Selangor.
23:23Preparing early requires foresight, and you sit in the center of all this process, turning the vision into reality.
23:29Uh, can you talk to us a bit about that?
23:32You know, how is it like making complex decisions?
23:35Um, what are some of the toughest calls you had to make, uh, at your, in your position as Group
23:40CEO of MBI Selangor?
23:41Yeah, um, um, uh, the most complex part is basically delivering individual, not, uh, delivering, uh, individual project,
23:49but how to develop, uh, to how to deliver the whole ecosystem, right?
23:53And, uh, uh, to, to create, uh, long-term or great long-term plan, and also value.
24:01And, uh, uh, uh, MBI Selangor operates between, uh, public mandate by the state, uh, by the people of Selangor.
24:10At the same time, commercial reality, we have to make money.
24:13Uh, by, by making money, we can also contribute to the state and to the people of Selangor.
24:18Uh, so, state normally, they, they, they, they, they protect public value.
24:23Investors need speeds.
24:24You know, at Selangor, we have speed, uh, Selangor program.
24:28Uh, so, they can speed up the process of approval of any investors, right?
24:33Uh, so, they need, uh, technical partners, uh, because technical partners, uh, they need clarity.
24:39They need time.
24:40They need, uh, when their project can be approved.
24:42So, for example, when their project can be started, when their project can be developed in, uh, a specific area.
24:49So, uh, our role, basically, to, to bring all this, uh, expectation into, into, uh, one strategy.
24:59Uh, uh, the project can be financed, the project can be delivered according to time, can be delivered as milestone
25:05agreed, right?
25:06Our, basically, our responsible, not only to accelerate project, but we have to be, uh, realistic.
25:13If we are not ready, we will tell investors we're not ready.
25:16And all this, of course, happen, um, it's not in isolation.
25:19Correct, correct, correct.
25:20Invest Selangor is, obviously, an important part of this equation in helping, um, facilitate investments into the state.
25:27Can you walk us through, or talk to us about the partnership that MBI Selangor has with Invest Selangor?
25:33Uh, and how has that shaped your strategy, particularly, in attracting investors into this state?
25:39Um, Invest Selangor, basically, our 100% company under MBI.
25:45At the same time, they're also our front line to identify, uh, investors, right?
25:53Uh, and at the same time, to, to give us insight, what is the requirement of investors in Selangor, right?
26:00And we, as MBI, we can use our subsidiary.
26:03We have to use our, our, our, our networking with PBT, our networking with, uh, local district, right?
26:14To ensure, uh, to match all the requirements by investors, and, and to make their, their process easier and faster,
26:24right?
26:24Uh, so, uh, for example, Invest Selangor will provide us, uh, what is investors' requirement?
26:30Uh, suitable location, uh, uh, infrastructure needed, uh, electricity needed, utilities needed, and for us to, to work closely with
26:39utilities company, with PBT, yeah, local council, for, for, for process to be, uh, to be fastened, and to be,
26:49uh, uh, within the, the, the, the, the specific time frame.
26:53And, um, um, for example, uh, we can always use our, our, uh, normally, uh, Invest Selangor.
27:02We will use our, uh, Selangor, uh, International Business Summit, right?
27:07Uh, previously, uh, we, we, we, we, we organized in KL Convention Center, and attracted so many, uh, players, not,
27:16not only from ASEAN, not only from Malaysia, but also from other states.
27:19Okay, because they use this platform to market their product, to market their, their, their, their area for industry, for
27:26the whole of ASEAN.
27:27So, uh, Invest Selangor, basically, they bring, um, the market to MBI Group, and MBI Selangor will bring our group
27:34capabilities together to turn their interest into investment, and for future Selangor.
27:40All right, and finally, Datuk, let's talk a bit about, um, let's zoom out a bit and talk about money
27:45that's pouring in.
27:46Because it's not just Selangor that is vying for capital, I mean, we have other states, like Johor, Penang, of
27:52course, but we are not just competing among our states, we are competing against ASEAN, our neighboring, uh, countries.
28:00So, over the next decade, how do you envision Selangor, um, biggest, where do you see the biggest room to
28:06grow, and where does MBI Selangor fit in the long-term picture?
28:12Okay, so, uh, Johor good in India area. Penang very good in semiconductor, for example, they are, they are in
28:18the market for the, maybe, for the past 20, 30 years, right?
28:21And we respect that, right? But we are here, uh, not to imitate them, right? But we have to develop
28:27and to sharpen our advantage, and, uh, because we have other advantage compared to them.
28:33We have good highway, we have good, uh, rail system, we have ports, two ports, number 10 in the world,
28:39we have two airports, right?
28:40So, Selangor, um, as a state with, um, the, the largest or the biggest economy, uh, in Malaysia, right? So,
28:52um, we, we, we, we also good at certain area, for example, manufacturing, E&E, we also good.
29:01So, 65% of our economy contributed by, by E&E, for example, we have services, we have logistics, so
29:07many companies now move to Shah Alam to have their integrated, uh, logistic.
29:11We have ready finance in Selangor, right? So, we have Invest Selangor who can, who can help them, not only
29:19to, to introduce them to, to Selangor, but also to facilitate them to make sure they can invest properly in
29:25Selangor, and they can, for sure,
29:27their target to make money as fast as possible, right? And also, at the same time, we have advanced semiconductor.
29:34We started our, uh, IC design park.
29:37We have aerospace. We have, uh, green industries. We have, uh, uh, solar project, for example, for green. And at
29:46the same time, uh, no other state can provide as what Selangor provide to investors.
29:52For example, we have enough, uh, uh, uh, reserve money or waters, right? We have, uh, uh, uh, proper, uh,
30:02housing. We have CLQ, proper CLQ for industry. We have talent. We have so many universities in Selangor. We have
30:09so many technical colleges in Selangor.
30:11So, by, by, by having that, we can mobilize state assets. We can coordinate in our MBI group, all our
30:20subsidiary. We can structure our, uh, public-private partnership, and we can develop catalytic project, uh, that the market can
30:28scale up.
30:29And we, uh, basically, our goal is to help Selangor evolve from successful investment decision into regional operating base, not
30:37only in ASEAN, and for the whole world, where companies can establish, where companies can establish, innovate, and also expand
30:43across, uh, ASEAN with their confidence and for the whole world.
30:47Sure. Well, thank you so much, uh, Datuk, for joining us and giving us a closer look, uh, where Selangor
30:52is heading and what that means for investors.
30:54Thank you so much. Thank you. You have been watching Investment Insider, brought to you by InvestLangor. I'm Cynthia Ng.
30:59We'll see you again next time.
31:29We'll see you again next time.
31:58We'll see you again next time.