Selangor's Cyber Valley

PKNS en route to make Selangor a vibrant, livable city through its Smart City Selangor Cyber Valley initiative

- Vino Nair

Selangor has always been – if not the leading – one of the foremost developed states in the country and has seen itself being a hot hub of sorts for many – be it for investment, employment and education opportunities, or even as the ideal place to live. Selangor promises to be a star attraction in these aspects.

In fact, Selangor has often enjoyed playing the darling of bringing foreign investors into the country for valid and strategic reasons, which include its ideal location to the administrative capital of Malaysia; an aggressive state investment agency, a business- and people-friendly state government; close and easy access to local and international transportation networks and ports; as well as a ready pool of talent.

The attractiveness of the Selangor state is further evidenced by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority or MIDA’s 2016 Malaysia Investment Performance Report that stated Selangor drew total capital investments worth RM7,880.8 million for the year 2016. It also happens to be the second state in the country to garner the confidence and interest of investors in the country. It is second only to Johor; Pulau Penang stands on the third rung.

Undeterred by sluggish global and local economic circumstances, Invest Selangor, the state’s one-stop investment agency, is as aggressive as ever in seeking investments into Selangor that will make it the reliable global business hub and attract many to the state. One such aspiration of the state is to transform itself into a Smart City via the Selangor Cyber Valley (SCV) initiative, and plans are already in motion to realise this dream.

The Selangor State executive councilor Teng Chang Khim stated in a news report that the state government aspires to turn Selangor into a smart state by 2025 and had launched a blueprint last year to that end.