JOHOR BARU – Johor maintains its position as the country’s main investment destination, recording the highest investment for January to September this year, amounting to RM63.9 billion.
State Investment, Trade and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Lee Ting Han said based on statistics from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) on December 14, the investment recorded was almost 33% of the total national investment during the period which stood at RM193.7 billion.
The services sector still dominates investment in the state at RM55.06 billion, followed by the manufacturing sector with RM8.84 billion, and the primary sector with RM25 million.
“A total of 340 projects were approved by Mida, while the number of job opportunities expected to be created through these investments would be 11,968.
“The statistics indicated that Johor remains the top investment destination in the country, mainly due to an investment and industrial ecosystem that meets the criteria of foreign and domestic investors,” he said in a statement today.
Lee also said that the positive performance was also contributed to by the provision of quality and highly skilled human capital, political stability in the state, and adequate utilities, land, and infrastructure such as ports and good basic amenities.
Meanwhile, he said Johor is also set to attract more investment in the digital, medical devices, and advanced manufacturing industries, as well as related support industries.
He said this was evident in recent investments from foreign countries such as the United States and Singapore, which are building factories for the production of medical devices.
“Similarly, China’s GDS Holdings Ltd and Bridge Data Centres as well as Malaysia’s YTL Power International Bhd are developing their own large-scale data centres, whereas Taiwan’s Wiwynn Corporation has opened a printed circuit board manufacturing facility,” he said.
Lee said the investment will also create high-skilled and quality job opportunities for the state, in addition to bolstering competitiveness.
Therefore, he lauded the initiative from the Digital Investment Office – a collaborative platform between Mida and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation – to create a unique business climate and spur investment in digital projects, especially the development of data centres in Johor, which is the biggest contributor to this year’s increased investment. – The Vibes, December 17, 2022
