KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 — The Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) expects China to contribute between 15-20 per cent of the RM30 billion investment target for this year.
Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Ismail Ibrahim said Chinese investments accounted for RM30 billion of the RM253 billion in total bagged by the authority from 2006 to 2017.
“Of the RM30 billion, 30 per cent was contributed from the manufacturing sector, services (30 per cent) and the rest by real estate,” he told reporters after receiving a visit from China’s Ambassador to Malaysia, Bai Tian here, today.
Ismail said with the investments by the Chinese companies, the target of RM383 billion by 2025 would be achieved earlier.
“We hope that China’s companies would have an interest in developing the infrastructure in Iskandar Malaysia, and also help us with the experience they have in that area,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bai said Chinese companies had shown great interest in investing in Iskandar Malaysia.
“There are representatives from 13 Chinese enterprises accompanying me on this visit, and shows the strong interest they have in Iskandar Malaysia,” he added.
Describing Iskandar Malaysia as under-reported with the advantages it has, such as the strategic location, Bai believes there is still ample room for collaboration between Chinese companies and IRDA in the future.
“I have invited five officials from Iskandar Malaysia to China for two seminars organised by Suzhou Industrial Park and the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area, for an exchange of experiences on good practices, as well as success stories in the development areas.
“With the continued efforts of both parties, we are strongly confident that Johor, including Iskandar Malaysia, will be able to excel,” he added. — Bernama
