Iskandar Malaysia attracts total investment of RM32.15bil

Iskandar Regional Development Authority chief executive officer Datuk Ismail Ibrahim.

JOHOR BARU: Iskandar Malaysia registers a total investment of RM32.15bil in 2016, surpassing its annual target of RM25bil, Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda) chief executive Datuk Ismail Ibrahim (pic) said. 

In a statement on Wednesday, he said the fourth quarter of 2016 alone saw the economic region secure RM3.6bil in new investments. 

Since 2006 until Dec 31 last year, Iskandar Malaysia recorded a total cumulative investment of RM222.44bil, of which RM119.50bil or 54% represents investments that have been realised as projects on the ground. 

This total cumulative amount, he said, also exceeded the initial targeted figure of RM149bil set when the region was first established. 

“Domestic investments were recorded at RM134.50bil or 60%, while foreign investments were recorded at RM87.95bil or 40% from the total cumulative committed investments,” he said. 

Throughout the 10 years of lskandar Malaysia’s development, Ismail said substantial changes could be seen in the region, not just in terms of economic development but also in social development and sustainability. 

This was the result of a strategic, comprehensive and meticulous planning of the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) for lskandar Malaysia. Initiatives to spur socio-economic activities have helped increase household income levels by 14.4% in 2014 compared with that of 2012, he added. 

To date, about 702,000 jobs have been created in various economic sectors, including the services sectors such as logistics, creative, tourism and education since the inception of Iskandar Malaysia. 

In addition, a dedicated business ecosystem was established by expanding the available pool of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to support large strategic investment. 

Ismail said 15% of these jobs involved skilled workers and professionals, while 16% were for semi-skilled workers. 

In addition to employment opportunities, Iskandar Malaysia also benefitted the people of Johor and Malaysia through the various business opportunities for entrepreneurs and SMEs. 

Over the next few years, we want to increase the percentage of professional and skilled jobs to 45% and we believe this is achievable with greater collaboration with the industry and support by the government,” he added. - Bernama