Hong Leong group allocates RM40 mln for HLX initiative

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — Hong Leong Group has allocated RM40 million for the HLX Integrated Innovation Centre ( HLX) to curate, develop and operate ecosystems focused on accelerating innovation in the digital economy.

HLX, fully-owned by Guocoland Malaysia Bhd, is managed by HLX Management Sdn Bhd. Guocoland Malaysia is the property arm of Hong Leong Group.

HLX Management general manager Mohd Reezan Mohd Fadzil said the company was allocated 250,000 square feet (sqf) of space or 15 floors out of the 32 floors of Menara HLA along Jalan Kia Peng to be developed as the digital hub.

“To date, about 35 per cent of the infrastructure facilities have been completed and will be fully ready by December 2020," he said at a media briefing on HLX. 

About 100,000 sqf has been taken up particularly on the sixth floor, including by a Vietnamese co-working space (50,000 sqf) and local training academy KCOM Group, which will occupy about 16,500 sqf.

In the last three to four months, HLX has been approached by 40-50 companies, half of which are international companies, according to Mohd Reezan.

Of the international companies, he said, 20-25 per cent are from the UK, with 40 per cent from Australia, 20-25 per cent from Asia and 10 per cent others.

“We have been very careful in terms of curating the right kind of start-ups,” he said, noting that HLX was planned to bring together start-ups, corporates, technology partners, mentors and venture capitalists into its integrated innovation centre ( IIC).

He said the IIC is an initiative that brings together market access and corporate collaboration to increase investment into the Malaysian innovation ecosystem over the next five years.

Moving forward, Mohd Reezan said he expects the value creation in the next five to 10 years of the whole ecosystem via HLX initiatives would be about US$500 million for the corporates and start-ups in terms of cost savings, efficiency, profit margins as well as opening up new revenue streams.

He added that if everything goes according to plan, HLX might in future take up the remaining space in the HLA building, with a total of 400,000 sqf space available for expansion.

— BERNAMA