KUALA LUMPUR (Xinhua): Malaysia's aspiration to become a biotechnology hub by 2020 with a combined approved investment worth 20 billion ringgit (6.27 billion U.S. dollars) is on track, local press reported on Friday.

Malaysia to date has already rolled out 51 BioNexus-status companies with a combined approved investment value of 1 billion ringgit (313.48 million U.S. dollars), Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Maximus Ongkili said after making a working visit to the Malaysian Biotechnology Corp Sdn Bhd's headquarters here on Thursday.

"All incentives are in place and we will go all out to produce 70 BioNexus-status companies by year-end," the New Straits Times ( NST) quoted Ongkili as saying.

Ongkili has replaced Jamaludin Jarjis under the new cabinet line-up.

The time for capacity building in the biotechnology sector will end by 2010, followed by efforts to commercialize the products ( between 2011 and 2015), hoping to generate a revenue of 80 billion ringgit (25.08 billion U.S. dollars) and contribute four percent to Malaysia's gross domestic product, Ongkili said.

Malaysia aims to have a slice of the world's biotechnology pie worth 153.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2006, and is wooing biotechnology companies to set up base in the country and offering them various incentives under the BioNexus status, according to report by NST.