Chinese Group Sheng Long Breaks Ground on RM140mil Aquafeed Plant in Kamunting, Taiping

Sheng Long Aqua Technology (M) Sdn Bhd broke ground on 10 August 2026 on a RM140mil aquaculture feed manufacturing plant at the Kamunting industrial area in Taiping, Perak — the first production base in Malaysia for the group, and its 10th feed mill overall.

The company is the aquaculture arm of China-based Guangdong Haid Group Co Ltd, a listed agriculture and animal husbandry group. Sheng Long already operates nine feed mills across Vietnam and India, together with four shrimp hatcheries, a tilapia fry farm and a research centre, and trades into Vietnam, India, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

The plant

Phase one comprises two shrimp feed production lines and two fish feed production lines, with a combined annual production capacity of 150,000 tonnes. Operations are scheduled to begin in 2028 — Malaysian Chinese dailies covering the ceremony report a target of June 2028.

The facility will also serve as Sheng Long’s manufacturing and technical service hub in Malaysia, and the group has said it intends to build out a fuller local aquaculture chain over time, adding fry and seed stock, animal health products and a technical service operation alongside the feed mill.

More than 100 jobs are expected once the plant is running, weighted toward higher-value technical, supervisory and management positions.

Perak’s pitch, and MIDA’s conditions

The ceremony was officiated by Perak State EXCO Member for Science, Environment and Green Technology Teh Kok Lim, who spoke on behalf of Tourism, Industry, Investment and Corridor Development EXCO Member Loh Sze Yee. Teh said the investment reflected the company’s confidence in Perak and demonstrated the state’s advantages as a manufacturing destination.

Also present were InvestPerak acting chief executive Dr Ahmad Shahir Abdul Aziz, MIDA Executive Director of Manufacturing Development (Resource) Surayu Susah, Taiping Municipal Council president Mohamed Akmal Dahalan, Pokok Assam assemblyman Ong Seng Guan, and the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority’s Perak state head Nur Baiti Jamalul Karib.

MIDA framed its support with expectations attached. Surayu said the agency encourages Sheng Long to honour its commitments on transferring expertise to Malaysian talent, and to integrate Malaysian SMEs into its operations so local businesses can participate in higher-value manufacturing. MIDA chief executive Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid said the project reduces reliance on imported feed and reinforces national food security and supply chain resilience.

Sheng Long general manager Chuang Jie Cheng said the investment aims to give farmers higher-quality feed, a more reliable supply chain and technical support to improve productivity and profitability.

The joint statement by MIDA, InvestPerak and Sheng Long noted that Malaysia’s food manufacturing sector attracted RM3.3bil in approved investments in the first quarter of 2026, within RM24.1bil approved for manufacturing overall.

What it means for industrial property

• Northern Perak gets a genuine anchor. Kamunting has long been a second-tier industrial address behind Ipoh and the Penang–Kulim belt. A RM140mil foreign manufacturer committing to a 2028 start, with a stated intent to add fry production and animal health lines later, is the kind of tenant that pulls suppliers and services in behind it.

• This is the second foreign plant in Perak in two weeks. South Korea’s K-Test broke ground on a RM205mil semiconductor testing plant in the state in late July. Two unrelated foreign investors choosing Perak inside a fortnight is a pattern worth watching for anyone holding or sourcing industrial land north of Ipoh.

• Food manufacturing is a different tenant profile. Feed milling needs bulk raw material handling, heavy floor loading, silo height and good road access — not cleanrooms. Owners of older, larger-footprint industrial land near the North–South Expressway corridor may find this sector a better fit than chasing E&E tenants.

[SCOTT: your on-the-ground take — what are industrial land prices doing in Kamunting and Taiping right now versus Ipoh, and would you point a client toward northern Perak on the back of these two announcements?]

Photo: courtesy of MIDA.