ISKANDAR PUTERI, May 7 — The federal government’s support was one of the factors that has enhanced Johor’s position as a choice destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) besides joint initiatives between federal and state governments, the Johor State Assembly was told today.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said there were many examples and one of them was Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Saudi Aramco’s decision to invest RM30 billion in the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in Pengerang.
Responding to a question from Ayub Jamil (BN-Rengit), Mohamed Khaled said Johor recorded investments amounted to RM116.1 billion for the 2012-2016 period, of which RM71.7 billion or 61.8 per cent were domestic investments and RM44.4 billion or 38.2 per cent foreign investments.
He said Johor was thankful to the federal government for its support and providing an incentive scheme for foreign investors, thus boosting the FDI inflows.
“Other factors, include good infrastructure, including three world-class ports, continuous technological development initiatives by the state government, the sustainability and competitiveness of major cities in Johor, and political stability of both the state and the country,” he said
To a supplementary question from Ayub, Mohamed Khaled said the state government took note of the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar’s call for the Johor government to be selective on the types of investments to be brought into the state and to avoid those that would have detrimental effects on the people’s wellbeing.
To another supplementary question from Datuk Samsol Bari Jamali (BN-Semarang), he said despite attempts to discredit the government, foreign investors remained confident in the state as proven from the investment figure recorded. — Bernama
