In a Bursa Malaysia filing today, DRB-Hicom said the MCA sets forth the underlying principles, governance framework and mutual commitment of the AHTV project, including specific roles to be undertaken for development and promotional initiatives.

Signing on behalf of DRB-Hicom was group COO, properties and corporate planning & strategy Azri Zaharuddin, while senior VP and COO Wei Mei signed on behalf of the Chinese automaker.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim witnessed the signing ceremony held at Proton Tanjong Malim.

DRB-Hicom said AHTV will be a next-generation international vehicle hub.

“It covers extensive automotive and mobility solutions across the value chain, from a full-fledged high-technology global research & development centre to world-class automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) player, manufacturing cluster as well as supporting services and associated ecosystem,” it said.

The conglomerate also said the AHTV will attract domestic and foreign investments which will propel it to become an international automotive hub for new energy vehicles (NEV).

“Its focus will not only be on the production of automobiles of various makers but also on the manufacturing of high-technology components and parts for NEVs.

“This will further expand the capability of local vendors towards specialising in high-technology manufacturing,” DRB-Hicom said.

Last year, DRB-Hicom and Geely were in discussion to extend the duration of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) which was inked in April, 2022 on developing and promoting the AHTV in Tanjong Malim, Perak.

In July, the prime minister announced that Geely will invest US$10 billion (RM47.21 billion) to develop the auto hub.

The AHTV is expected to attract some RM32 billion worth of investments over the next 10 years.

DRB Hicom is the majority shareholder of Proton Holdings Berhad and Geely has a 49.9% stake in it.

As at 4.44pm, DRB-Hicom’s share price increased by 2 sen or 1.42% to RM1.43, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM2.76 billion.