KUALA LUMPUR (April 25): Hong Leong Group Bhd today launched its innovation exchange, the HLX, which aspires to grow the Malaysian tech start-up ecosystem with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) as one of its strategic partners.

Datuk Edmund Kong, group managing director of GuocoLand Malaysia Bhd, a member of Hong Leong Group, said the HLX, to be developed in two phases, would be a one-stop facility which converges the corporate and start-up communities to accelerate innovation and boost the Malaysian start-up ecosystem.

"Building on the foundation of our strong entrepreneurial roots, Hong Leong Group has always focused on nurturing innovation. The creation of HLX is a step in this direction which stems from our commitment to hone the potential of the start-up ecosystem so that it reaps rewards for the economy and society at large.

“Our strong expertise and in-depth knowledge of the various industries will surely be beneficial to the start-ups that become part of HLX,” he told reporters after the launch of the HLX here today.

Kong said the 250,000-square feet exchange will feature a start-up zone with co-working spaces, various event facilities including an auditorium, onsite Makers Lab, restaurants and a gym.

He said this innovation incubator will be the focal point for collaborators vital to the growth of the ecosystem such as venture capitalists, mentoring and technology partners, tech start-ups/scale-ups, and corporations.

This project is also a private-public partnership with MDEC, which is springboarding HLX to be part of the digital economy ecosystem.

The objective of this synergy is to accelerate innovation among the start-ups which will help propel the country's digital transformation efforts in sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure and services.

On the talent front, the HLX Academy will be the exchange where capacity building takes place with future talents through training, mentoring, and industry placements, of which it will be partnering with technical experts like CXS, BAC Twistcode and others.

The HLX Academy strives to build a pipeline of industry-ready innovators and creators, while at the same time, match their skill sets to key partners from corporations and the government.