Siemens invests in Malaysia

Siemens invests in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Germany electronic and engineering giant Siemens AG is to invest an initial 30 million ringgit (US$12 million) to set up operations in Malaysia's newly created high- technology zone.

The group will form a subsidiary, Siemens Multimedia Sdn. Bhd., to tap the "multi-purposed smartcard" and electronic government projects, said Christian Urbanke, managing director of Siemens Electrical Engineering here.

The money would be used to buy equipment and fund training programs, research and development in the multimedia super corridor (MSC) for the first two years, Urbanke told Bernama news agency in an interview.

The MSC, the pet project of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, is for computers and technology-related industries and is aimed at setting the pace for Malaysia to enter the information- technology era.