SHAH ALAM, Sept 7 ― Selangor contributed 22.7 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2016, making it the largest state contributor to the economy, said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.

Citing the latest figures released by the Department of Statistics yesterday, he said the amount reflected a 0.1 per cent increase from 22.6 per cent in the previous year.

"After 60 years of national independence, Selangor continues to lead the nation in contributing to its GDP,” he said in his speech when opening the Selangor International Business Summit (SIBS) 2017 at the Setia City Convention Centre here, today.

Mohamed Azmin said the state government was pushing the economy forward by emphasising strongly on the aerospace, e-commerce, services and biotechnology sectors.

Earlier, Selangor Senior Executive Councillor for investment Datuk Teng Chang Kim said Selangor was an ideal place for companies looking to penetrate the regional market as it provided many business opportunities.

He said Selangor has set a vision of becoming the Global Trading Hub and planned to build the Selangor World Trade Centre as envisioned by the menteri besar.

The SIBS 2017, which started today, comprised three main components, namely the Selangor Smart City and Future Commerce Convention (Sept 7-9), the Selangor-Asean Business Conference (Sept 11-12), and the Selangor International Expo (Sept 14-17).

Teng said the Selangor government, through Invest Selangor Bhd initiated the first Selangor International Expo in 2015 and since then, the event had attracted business communities from China, Asean and European countries.

He said the SIBS would feature international speakers who would talk about the five core industry clusters that would help steer Selangor’s economic growth, namely electrical and electronics; machinery and equipment; transport equipment; food and beverage; and life sciences.

"SIBS 2017 will be a perfect platform to showcase what Selangor has to offer investors who are eyeing the Asean markets,” he said.

Invest Selangor Bhd Chief Executive Officer Datuk Hasan Azhari Idris is present. ― Bernama