Managed industrial parks will attract high-value investment amid ESG trends, says Knight Frank Malaysia

• Presenting Knight Frank Malaysia's white key paper titled “ESG by Design: Selangor’s Path To Sustainable Industrial Real Estate”, Frank Malaysia executive director Allan Sim said: “With the launch of Selangor’s Managed Industrial Park (MIP) standard, coupled with green features certification and ESG adoption, MIP developments are expected to attract high-value investment.”

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 19): The emergence of a well-managed and well-planned industrial park with emphasis on environmental, social and governance (ESG) attributes and technology adoption will attract high-value investment, said Knight Frank Malaysia executive director Allan Sim at the Selangor Industrial Park Expo (SPARK) 2023 held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on Thursday.

SPARK 2023 was held in concurrent with the three-day Selangor Industrial Business Summit 2023 exhibition.

Presenting Knight Frank Malaysia's white key paper titled “ESG by Design: Selangor’s Path To Sustainable Industrial Real Estate”, Sim said: “With the launch of Selangor’s Managed Industrial Park (MIP) standard, coupled with green features certification and ESG adoption, MIP developments are expected to attract high-value investment.”

“[With] Malaysia as a preferred location for investors, developments with ESG-ready infrastructure will result in capital savings in the long term, with compliance with ESG standards. Growth in ESG demand is expected to drive more MIP developments in the country, forming a self-sustaining ecosystem, as well as creating synergy and healthy integration with the immediate and wider environment,” Sim explained. 

Following the presentation, a fireside chat session, moderated by Knight Frank Malaysia executive director Sasitheran Subramaniam, featured Sime Darby Property Bhd group managing director Datuk Azmir Merican, Area Management Sdn Bhd executive chairman Datuk George Stewart LaBrooy, and NCT Alliance Bhd director Sae-Yap Atthakovit as the panellists.

During the session, Azmir pointed out that it is important for industrial developers to understand what customers want to attract, and learn what they want to build a good industrial park.

Meanwhile, LaBrooy pointed out that while bigger companies are more aware of reducing their carbon footprint, raising awareness of the importance of ESG compliance among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is pertinent.

“There’s a huge agenda waiting for us to make sure that SMEs are in green buildings, complying with the ESG principles, and to have a good [carbon footprint] score,” said LaBrooy.

“If you're supplying to a very big multinational corporation, [such as] Nestlé or Intel, [but] you don't have a good ESG score, they won't buy from you…so, there is a need in the industry to make sure that we educate our SMEs to get on this [ESG] journey quickly,” he explained.

Zooming into the Integrated Development Region in South Selangor (IDRISS), Atthakovit shared that the location and incentives given by the state government provide an opportunity to establish one's presence there. He added that various incentives by the government will attract more MIP developments to the region.

IDRISS is a post-pandemic initiative to stimulate the state's economic growth through integrated investment development by private developers involving various sectors.

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