KUALA LUMPUR: Haitian Group, a leading industrial equipment manufacturer from China broke ground today on Phase 1 of their regional manufacturing facilities situated at Eco Business Park II (“EBP II”), Iskandar Malaysia.

The 92-acre industrial site at EBP II was acquired by Haitian Machinery (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd in 2022 from Eco Business Park 2 Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eco World Development Group Berhad (“EcoWorld”). This is the Haitian Group’s first project in Malaysia and apart from manufacturing facilities, the site will also house a research institute, employee dormitories and other amenities.

The estimated total investment cost that the Haitian Group will be expending on its planned facilities at the 92-acre site is approximately RM3 billion. Construction of Phase 1 is expected to be completed by the end of 2026 with production planned to start in 2027. Over the next 5 years, approximately 400 employees are expected to be employed at the facility which will be producing sophisticated injection moulding machines and computer numerical control (CNC) machines for the South East Asian region.

Today’s groundbreaking ceremony was witnessed by Mr Zhang Jianming, Chairman of Haitian Group and Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin, Executive Chairman of EcoWorld and attended by the senior management teams of both Haitian Group and EcoWorld.

Commenting on event, Yang Berhormat Lee Ting Han, Chairman of the Johor State Investment, Trade, Consumer Affairs and Human Resources Committee said, “We are delighted that the Haitian Group, a renowned Chinese industrialist with global reach across its many business verticals, have chosen Iskandar Malaysia as the place from which they will be expanding to serve their customers throughout South East Asia. Their decision to invest RM3 billion to create a state-of-the art regional manufacturing hub at EBP II speaks volumes about the attractiveness of Johor as a preferred investment destination for global investors. Their market leadership position as a manufacturer of technologically advanced industrial machines is also in line with Invest Johor’s mission to transform the state into a regional hub for high-technology, knowledge-based and high investment sectors.”

Dato’ Chang Khim Wah, President & CEO of EcoWorld added, “This is a momentous occasion and the culmination of extensive and meticulous design and masterplanning by the Haitian Group to create a truly world-class manufacturing hub at EBP II. We are indeed privileged to have worked with them over the years to help realise their vision to expand their business in South East Asia. Their decision to carry out not just high-tech manufacturing but also cutting-edge research at their facilities in EBP II will certainly contribute towards technology transfer, resulting in higher value jobs and increased business opportunities for Malaysians.”

The Haitian Group was founded in 1966 in China, with over 50 years of rapid entrepreneurial growth. Today it has multi-national operations across five industries with total assets exceeding RMB22.8 billion. These industries are plastics machinery (“Haitian International Holdings Limited” listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange), CNC machines (“Ningbo Haitian Precision Holdings Limited” listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange), drive and control systems (“Haitian Drive”), die casting machines (“Haitian Die Casting”) and smart solutions (“Haitian Smart”).

The Group has over 80 subsidiaries globally, with products sold to customers over 130 countries and regions. In recent years, the companies under the Haitian Group have won a variety of honours at the national, provincial and municipal levels in China, including “National Innovative Enterprise”, “National Key High-Tech Enterprise”, “Famous Chinese Brand” and “State Science and Technology Awards”.