Malaysia to promote biotechnology

Malaysia is keen on enhancing its partnerships with Indian biotechnology and life sciences companies. It would explore avenues in India and would also invite Indian companies to set up units in Malaysia, said Selvam Ramaraj, industry development division (healthcare) senior vice-president, BiotechCorp, the lead development agency for biotechnology industry in Malaysia.

On a business development engagement for 2009, he said Malaysia had identified biotechnology as a key driver for growth and the government would support it as an enabler to move the conventional sectors up the value chain.

The Malaysian government has allocated $3 billion in its budget this year to enhance healthcare, increase the supply of medicine, intensifying research and enforcement activities and strengthen healthcare biotechnology.

To attract biotechnology companies to Malaysia, it has allowed them to source funds globally, bring in knowledge workers, extended tax exemption for 10 years from the first year the company derives profit and exempted import duty and sales tax on raw materials, components, machinery and equipment under its BioNexus scheme to support biotechnology industry.

“We do not foresee any significant claw back in terms of growth plans in the next 12 months,” he said, adding that there were 97 BioNexus companies with an approved investment of $ 360 million.