Alor Setar, Kedah, 29 November 2018 – Kedah will embark on a new milestone in the development of green paper industry, with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Invest Kedah Berhad and Zhejiang XSD Holding Group Co., Ltd, (Zhejiang XSD) today.

The Green Paper Industry Park project which is scheduled to commence in Padang Meha, Kulim is expected to bring RM1.2 billion in terms of investment from the China-based company that produces coated duplex board for Southeast Asia and Middle East market.

This collaboration was further strengthened when Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad visited China last August. Signing on behalf of Invest Kedah was its Senior General Manager, Encik Zafir Anuar Ghazali, while Zhejiang XSD was represented by its President Mr. Shengfeng Lee.

The MoU will allow Invest Kedah to facilitate, promote and assist Zhejiang XSD in the development of green paper industry that will be carried out on a 300 acres of land in Padang Meha, Kulim.

Following the MoU, Zhejiang XSD also signed a sale and purchase agreement for the 300 acres of land with Sime Darby Property Berhad. Mr. Shenfeng Lee once again signed on behalf of XSD International Paper Sdn. Bhd. the locally incorporated entity of Zhejiang XSD, while Sime Darby Property was represented by its Group Managing Director Dato’ Sri Amrin Awaluddin.

The collaboration is a key milestone for Sime Darby Property’s transformation journey, where the company aims to secure continuous business growth by being a key player in the industrial and logistic development.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Kedah Menteri Besar, YAB Dato’ Seri Haji Mukhriz Tun Mahathir and state Industry, Investment and Local Government Committee chairman YB Tan Kok Yew.

Kedah Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Mukhriz said the project marks a further strengthening of the bilateral relationship between Malaysia and China.

“The project in Padang Meha, Kulim will spur the economic growth in the area and provide 1,300 job opportunities to the locals. We also believe that the investment will continue to increase China’s investors’ confidence in the state,” he said.

According to Mr. Shenfeng, Zhejiang XSD’s investment will contribute an annual output of RM1.8 billion, while generating RM1.5 billion through the export of products. This will also create a disruption effect by driving the development of all related paper making in the region and even throughout Malaysia. In addition, the company also plans to cooperate with a local technical university to further improve the paper making skills here in Malaysia.

The collaboration is also expected to enable the Kedah State Government, Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), Invest Kedah and Sime Darby Property to work closely together and to help attain Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER)’s vision in sustaining the development interventions and creating job opportunities while contributing to the socioeconomic inequality within the states in NCER.

NCER has attracted a cumulative investment of RM95.2 billion and successfully created over 118,567 job opportunities as of September this year. This achievement is expected to gain momentum driven by the balanced economic growth objectives and the fiscal consolidation initiatives which will ensure increased governance and investor’s confidence in the country.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

About Zhejiang XSD
Zhejiang XSD Holding Group Co., Ltd is located in Chunjiang functional area Hangzhou Fuyang --- the hometown of duplex coated paper in China. Since 2015, we bought 12 companies and held 7 enterprises to promote the paper making industrial, so our company has formed a large scale. The main products includes duplex coated paper and corrugated paper with different types and sizes, which own the best surface coating in the world, get the benefits of good surface smoothness, stable ink absorb-ability, low surface roughness and rich printing dots making excellent printing results. Our customers are all over the world such as Middle East, Southeast Asia, South America and so on. We have strong production capacity more than 130 tons annually with 11 production lines.

About Invest Kedah
Established in 2006, Invest Kedah is a Government-Linked Company (GLC) entrusted to attracting, facilitating and supporting business investments in Kedah, Invest Kedah plays the key role of working with government agencies and local authorities to ensure a seamless set up process for local and international investor. As one stop centre (OSC), Invest Kedah provides full support services for investor including:

• Advice and assistance in identifying potential investment points
• Providing essential local market insight and information
• Assistance in resolving day to day operational issues
• Formulation of attractively customised investment packages
• Liaising with local government agencies to streamline the investment process

Powered by a team of professionals with wide-ranging market experience, Invest Kedah has successfully facilitated the setting up of investments from a multitude of industries including Automotive, Tourism, Halal Products, Electrical & Electronic and many more. As Invest Kedah continues to transform Kedah in line with its corporate Vision and Mission, investors can look forwards to even more high-impact investment opportunities that will further strengthen their regional and global market presence

About Sime Darby Property Berhad
Sime Darby Property is Malaysia’s largest property developer in terms of land bank with 20,572 acres of remaining developable land. On the back of a successful 45-year track record of developing sustainable communities, Sime Darby Property has to date built 23 active townships/developments with a global reach that encompasses assets and operations across the Asia Pacific region and the United Kingdom. In the UK, as part of a Malaysian consortium, Sime Darby Property is the developer of the iconic Battersea Power Station project in central London. Sime Darby Property is a multiple award-winning property group with numerous local and international accolades. It is the first Malaysian property developer to be awarded the International FIABCI Prix d’Excellence Awards twice for its Subang Jaya and UEP Subang Jaya townships. The company bagged its 9th consecutive Gold at the Putra Brand Awards 2018 and its 6th consecutive Top 10 Developers Awards at the BCI Asia 2015. Sime Darby Property has also been recognised as among the top developers in Malaysia in the annual The Edge Top Property Developers Awards, a recognition which the company consistently receives since 2009. The company has a market capitalisation of RM6.77 billion as at 26 November 2018.

For more information, log on to www.simedarbyproperty.com

About NCIA
The Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) is the statutory body responsible for establishing directions, devising policies and strategies related to the development of Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER)’s programmes. Incorporated in June 2008 under the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority Act 2008 (Act 687), NCIA‘s primary mandate is to promote and accelerate development of NCER into a world-class economic region and a choice destination for investment, work and living. NCIA will continue to drive the growth of NCER towards becoming a world-class economic region by 2025 by catalysing and implementing high value-added development programmes in three key sectors namely Manufacturing, Agriculture & Bio-industries and Services. The subsectors for Services are Tourism; Logistics and Connectivity; and Global Business Services (GBS).

For more information, log on to https://www.koridorutara.com.my/

Media Contact:

For more information on NCIA, please contact:
Ms. Aemizureen Kamarudin
Head of Corporate Communications Unit
Email: aemi@ncer.com.my
Mobile: +6019 229 0879

For more information on Invest Kedah, please contact:
Mr. Azizuddin Bin Anuar
Asisstant Manager Corporate Communications
Email: azizuddin@investkedah.com.my
Mobile: +6013 520 3065

For more information on Sime Darby, please contact:
Mr. Ahmad Shahriman Johari
Head, Corporate Communications
Email: shahriman.johari@simedarbyproperty.com
Mobile: +6019 333 8320