KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — The country’s stable business environment, talented workforce and strategic location are among the main reasons Malaysia continues to draw foreign investments, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today.

Najib said this was made possible through the 2010 Economic Transformation Programme which have created 2.26 million new jobs and contributed to the increase 2017 Gross Domestic Products (GDP) by 5.9 per cent last year.

"In 2017, we saw net foreign inflows of RM10.8 billion into our equity market, the highest since 2012.

"That’s a sign of the international community’s confidence in our economy and the way it is being managed,” he said before witnessing the exchange of two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) at Mandarin Oriental today.

Najib was referring to the government’s latest global partnership with South Korea’s second largest conglomerate, SK Group, under the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) which was made official today.

In line with the National Transformation 2050, two MoUs were signed today to signify the new partnership and another to implement the Blue Ocean Smart Cities initiatives within the country, starting with Cyberjaya.

The first MoU was between the government and SK Group while the second one was between government-owned Cyberview Sdn Bhd and two SK Group subsidiaries, namely SK Holdings Co Ltd and SK Telecom Co Ltd.

Secretary-general of Treasury and Cyberview Sdn Bhd Chairman Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, in a press conference, said the partnership was unique as it elevates the public-private relationship to a new level.

"Under NBOS we executed the Urban Transformation Centre project where all agencies are coming together to work as one team, regardless of jurisdiction. This has rid the working in silo mentality.

"Today, we bring in international players into NBOS and this is a good thing because SK Group can share the knowledge and technology they have here,” he said.

When asked to explain the concept of Smart City that Cyberjaya aspires to be, SK Holdings chief executive officer and chairman Chey Tae-Won said it will serve as a model smart city solution that can be replicated by other cities in the world.

"The analogy is like this: Cyberjaya will be transformed into the best kitchen in the world with the best facilities and we will invite all the best chefs from all over the world to cook their best dishes in our ‘kitchen’,” he said.

He said Malaysia will certainly benefit from their years of expertise in many fields including information and communication technology, oil and gas, urban development and green technology.

According to the MoUs, SK Group is given one year to lay out the groundwork before the projects can be executed.

The company will also expand their businesses here by establishing a Regional Head Office in Malaysia covering Asean countries, India and the Middle East.

Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Minister of Finance II Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Ali Hamsa.