Chow had undertaken a 10-day trade mission to the US earlier this month.
He said he had promising engagements with potential investors during his Aug 4-14 trip.
Chow said the majority of the 22 companies he visited involved existing investors considering expanding their operations.
He said the investors needed time to plan, analyse the market and make other preparations before deciding whether to invest further in Penang.
He told FMT he had received affirmation from existing investors that Penang was the place they wanted to expand their operations.
“Of course, we won’t see immediate action by them,” Chow said after witnessing the signing of three memorandums of understanding between IJM Perennial Development and its collaborators.
The 10-day mission to the US, organised by InvestPenang, was focused on renewing ties and strengthening relationships with the corporate headquarters of American investors in Penang and attracting new investments to the state.
The first four days were spent in San Jose, where the delegation visited companies such as Agilent, Brooks Instruments, Coherent, Efinix,Lattice Semiconductor, MKS Instruments, SambaNova, Synopsys and Western Digital.
The delegation then travelled to Seattle, San Diego and Los Angeles for the remaining six days, where they met with Centific, Cohu, Dexcom, Mattel, Monolithic Power Systems, TTM Technologies, UST and potential investors.
Chow said the meetings discussed the transformative impact of artificial intelligence, with previews of their potential applications and innovations.
Chow said there was also a strong emphasis on the urgent need for renewable energy adoption and Penang’s strategic direction towards environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles.
Chow also said that US chip-maker Intel is continuing with its Penang expansion plans despite media reports that it was restructuring, Bernama reported.
“We did not visit Intel during my recent trip to the US and the state has not been informed of any retrenchment plans.
“We do not know how it will impact Penang but they are building their expansion here now, so we would expect them to recruit rather than retrench staff,” he said today.
Penang recorded RM71.9 billion in investment inflows in 2023, the highest in Malaysia. Of the total, RM61.7 billion (85.8%) was through foreign direct investments.
Chow said the achievement was a testament to the state’s transparent, investor-friendly and competitive economic policies.