AUGUSTASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK9NEWSROOMMALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT & GLIC TO INVEST MYR 1B IN BUDDING STARTUPSPANASONIC TO SUPPLY EV BATTERIES TO SUBARUMalaysia's government and government-linked investment companies (GLICs) will invest MYR1 billion ($211.12 million) in additional funds to match private funds, according to the country's Prime Minister.Anwar Ibrahim said in his speech at the launch of the so-called 'Ekonomi Madani' plan on Thursday that the initiative, one of several under the new economic road map, would include ensuring the provision of funds for each stage of a company's growth, as well as expanding the implementation of programmes such as Corporate Hackathon and MYHackathon.According to the prime minister, Malaysia was ranked 20th in the world in the Global Startup Ecosystem 2023 report, with the Malaysian start-up ecosystem valued at $46 billion for the first half of 2020 to 2022.It will also invest an additional MYR100 million ($22.12 million) in R&D, commercialization, and innovation, with a focus on industrial needs such as renewable energy, food security, and new growth areas. Panasonic Holdings has begun to consider providing electric vehicle batteries to Subaru, according to a source on July 28.According to the report, the two companies are soon to announce their intention to sign a basic supply agreement for EV batteries.Panasonic Holdings' energy unit and Mazda Motor announced in June that they would begin discussions to form a battery supply partnership for electric vehicles (EVs).According to the source, Panasonic, which supplies almost all of Tesla's EV batteries, is looking to expand its global market presence as Chinese and South Korean competitors expand their presence. AUGUSTASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK9
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