Taiwan’s Ally Logistic Property to invest US$1b in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Taiwan’s largest warehousing infrastructure developer, Ally Logistic Property Co Ltd (ALP), is set to invest US$1 billion (RM4.14 billion) in Malaysia to develop smart warehousing solutions to boost the country’s logistics industry.

ALP’s plans in Malaysia are already under way with the development of a US$180 million 27-acre logistics park with smart warehousing facility called OMega, in Bukit Raja, Selangor.

OMega is a multi-storey, technology integrated warehousing platform with hyperautomation built in. It is designed to help not only Malaysian but also multinational brands and retailers achieve improvements in efficiency and greater accuracy in decision-making in response to the high volatility of e-commerce and vigorous development of digitalisation. ALP Bukit Raja OMega will generate an estimated 500 job opportunities.

The sheer magnitude of OMega enables ALP to introduce a “shared warehouse” structure to offer flexibility to support its clients’ business expansion. OMega’s scale also makes it possible to accommodate a complete industry vertical to shorten respective supply chains, accelerate turnover of materials and products, and reduce working capital and distribution costs. Its automation solution supports the transformation of labour-intensive supply chains via data application and helps companies tackle the complexity of warehouse management to optimise business processes, gain time and improve cost efficiency.

Malaysia continues to remain an attractive market for e-commerce with its gross merchandise value projected to rise to US$30 billion by 2025. E-commerce income grew 23.3% year-on-year to RM267.6 million in the second quarter of 2021, driven mainly by the manufacturing and services sectors.

ALP co-founder & CEO Charlie Chang said Malaysia’s supply chain industry presents vast opportunities that are yet untapped; however, large-scale investments and a sharing economy business model will see the industry experience a boom.

“The Malaysian market offers tremendous potential, and we are confident that our investment here will attract more regional players and other high-value investments to drive Malaysia’s aspirations towards becoming a regional e-commerce hub. ALP’s OMega introduces collaborative operating models to unveil new economic opportunities and spur growth for the industry while empowering local brands in their digital transformation journey to reach new markets and unlock wealth,” Chang said in a statement today.

ALP Malaysia managing director Keren Liu explained that the smart warehousing model that ALP is introducing in Malaysia will provide greater momentum for Malaysian businesses to be part of the global supply chain.

“ALP’s investment will help to create more job opportunities in Malaysia. With automation at the core of ALP’s offerings, we aim to enrich Malaysia’s warehousing infrastructure and advance convergence with global supply chains; this in turn will support Malaysia’s Logistics 4.0 ambition and strengthen its position as the preferred warehousing gateway in Asia.”

Located in Bukit Raja Industrial Park, OMega will serve as a hub for distribution along the west coast of Malaysia. The facility will feature 1.2 million square feet in leasable area with additional 100,000 pallets in the co-sharing automated storage and retrieval system zone with a total of 150 loading docks.

The construction of ALP Bukit Raja OMega is expected to be completed in first-quarter 2024. It will be part of ALP’s regional chain of warehousing facility networks and will capture the attention of multinational investors and brands looking to establish their regional distribution centres in Malaysia.

Strategically located OMega smart warehouses across Malaysia are expected to generate about 3,000 job opportunities.