Chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said that IJM Corp Bhd, Gamuda Bhd, and Eastern & Oriental Bhd had been asked to submit additional details, including the partners they were working with and the financial services they intended to anchor within the hub.

“That is the next milestone – we are going to gather more details about how to actualise the financial centre, who their partners are, and so on,” he told reporters after witnessing a signing ceremony for a mixed development in Sungai Pinang today.

Chow also said that discussions were ongoing on how the project could move forward despite still pending approval from the finance ministry.

“But despite that, we had a meeting to continue strategising what to do next, and we are continuing this effort,” he added.

He also acknowledged that planning for the international financial hub was not a simple matter.

“Like LRT, we worked hard for 10 years before we got approval,” he said.

Last month, Chow urged the federal government to reconsider its rejection of the Penang International Financial Centre plan, saying the project was vital to the state’s long-term growth.

Proposed by the Penang government earlier this year, the financial centre is part of a plan to grow the state’s economy beyond factories and tourism.

It is meant to bring in new types of business such as fund management, fintech, and wealth management, and aims to turn Penang into a regional financial hub like Labuan or Singapore.

The proposal still requires approval from the finance ministry, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission Malaysia.