He said his earlier proposal to have 20% of revenue collected from Penang returned to the state was not taken up by Putrajaya.
“I think it is an appropriate time for the federal government to consider (this request) seriously and not just push it aside. If not 20%, we can start with 10%,” he told reporters at Komtar today.
Chow said while federal funding for infrastructure was welcome, the state needed resources for social and welfare programmes.
He had told the state assembly on May 19 that Penang’s finances were under pressure, citing a projected deficit of over RM100 million.
He said despite perceptions of Penang as a wealthy state, most tax revenue from investors flowed to federal coffers, not the state.
Chow’s push for sales and service tax revenue sharing comes as pressure mounts on Putrajaya to address imbalances in revenue sharing between the federal and state governments.
He said Penang was the second highest contributor to the nation’s approved manufacturing investments in the first quarter of 2025, securing RM6.7 billion or 22% of the country’s total.
He said 90% of the investments in the first quarter of 2025 came from foreign sources, led by the US (RM2.4 billion), Hong Kong (RM1.3 billion) and Taiwan (RM1.1 billion), mostly in the electrical and electronics and machinery sectors.
He said Penang continued to attract investor interest despite global uncertainty, including the recent US tariff announcements.
However, the Q1 figures likely reflected decisions made before the tariffs, and that the true impact would only be seen in later quarters.
“The numbers we have in Q1 are about 40% of what we got last year. We expect to get equal or better than last year’s numbers,” he said, noting that Penang recorded RM17.3 billion in total investments in 2024.
InvestPenang to meet Intel
Asked about chipmaker Intel’s reported pause in plans to expand in the state, Chow said InvestPenang would meet the company “this or next week” for updates.
“Their facility is close to completion. I was invited to visit the facility a few months back to see the progress. And now it has progressed even further, nearing completion,” he said.
In 2021, Intel announced a US$9 billion (RM38.5 billion) investment to build an advanced chip packaging and testing facility in Penang, its first such plant outside the US.
However, the company placed the project on “indefinite hold” in late 2024 following poor financial results and capital expenditure cuts.
Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz later said he had met with Intel to discuss its reinvestment plans. He said the firm’s long-standing presence since 1972 reflected its continued confidence in the country as a key base outside the US.