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M'sia offers 50 new innovation business opportunities
Publication Date : 30-01-2013
A total of 50 more Innovation Business Opportunities (IBOs) with potential revenue of 950 million ringgit (US$309.24 million) have been made available.
The IBOs range from a tropical clothes dryer and a salt replacement seaweed additive to a 5-in-1 machine for padi field preparation and a dual-locking system for motorcycles.
These are offered through bidding, which started yesterday.
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said the opening of the new IBOs was spurred by the overwhelming response to the previous two offerings.
“The 92 earlier IBOs with a Year-3 revenue potential of 2 billion ringgit received encouraging response from investors.
“I am happy to announce 50 more new IBOs available for bidding.
“Please visit www.innovation.my for more detail of these IBOs,” he said after chairing the Agensi Innovasi Malaysia's (AIM) sixth governance council meeting here yesterday.
The first round of bidding for the IBOs was opened in April last year, offering 42 projects, and in October, 50 more projects were added.
It is coordinated by AIM as part of the government's approach to enable wealth creation for Malaysian entrepreneurs.
The initiative offers intellectual property owned by universities and public research and development organisations in Malaysia to the private sector for these to be taken up and commercialised.
Najib also announced the 2012 Score Card for AIM, which reported the agency's initiatives and deliveries in three key innovation areas - intellectual, business and social.
He said in the area of intellectual innovation for stem-cell research, the Government had approved AIM's investment in KLSMC Stem Cells Sdn Bhd's technology of using “autologous peripheral blood stem cells” for articular cartilage repair.
“AIM's investment in Mardil Medical Inc with its minimal invasive heart-valve treatment will put Malaysia on the global map with the setting up of Mardil's Asia Centre of Excellence in the country.
“In the area of social innovation, i-THINK, the collaboration with the Education Ministry to inculcate critical, analytical and creative thinking skills in schools, is now being rolled out in 1,000 schools nationwide after the pilot project in 10 schools.
“The programme, which uses eight visual thinking maps to encourage innovation, collaboration and exploration among students, will be expanded to all 10,000 schools by next year,” he said.
In business innovation, Najib said the National Biomass Strategy 2020, launched two years ago, saw the construction of three biomass-based fuel pallet plants and the deal to supply the pallets to one of South Korea's biggest energy producers.
AIM chief executive officer Mark Rozario later told newsmen that they planned to have new editions of IBOs every three to four months, and they would not be limited to just the public sector.
“There are also some from the private sector and (IBO) proposals are coming in all the time.
“But ultimately, all this should be private-sector driven, and if there is any private-sector venture capital coming in, we are more than happy to step aside and let them take over.”