News Straits Times Press, 10 January, 2007

University plans RM30m building to house incubation firms

A STATE-OF-THE-ART building housing incubation companies - especially those specialising in biotechnology - is being planned by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) at its proposed biotechnology park in Bukit Jambul on Penang island.
The building which is estimated to cost RM30 million will house the university's commercial arm, Usains Holding Sdn Bhd, and continue to be the focal point for the development and commercialisation of leading-edge biotechnology products.

"The establishment of the park and Usains' new stand-alone building will serve as a magnet in luring biotechnology investments and professionals to Penang," Usains group managing director Datuk Dr Gan Ee Kiang told Business Times.

The proposed building, which is set to take shape in two years, will also support the research and commercialisation activities of other Usains incubatees which represent the information technology and semiconductor indutries, Gan added.

Anchor tenants for the building include biotechnology firms such as Renogenic Sdn Bhd and Info Kinetics Sdn Bhd.

"Other possible tenants include Hovid Bhd," he added.

The Usains group of companies, wholly-owned by USM, was incorporated in 1998 and its holding company Usains Holding Sdn Bhd has a paid-up capital of RM5 million.

USM vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dzulkifli Abdul Razak had said that the park, to be launched by end-2007, will be modelled on research parks found in California's "Silicon Valley".

The university is currently in negotiations to acquire the land on which Inti International College is located in Bukit Jambul.