Johor attracts highest investment among states from January to September

JOHOR BARU: Johor recorded the highest investment figures in the country in the first nine months of 2022, says state investment, trade and consumer affairs committee chairman Lee Ting Han.

He said statistics published by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) showed the RM63.9bil figure accounted for 33% of the total national investment of RM193.7bil from January until September.

"Johor continues to attract strong interest from domestic and foreign investors and remains the top investment destination in Malaysia," Lee said in a statement on Friday (Dec 16).

He pointed out that Johor's achievement was the highest approved figure in the country.

Kuala Lumpur was in second place with RM26bil, followed by Selangor's RM25.7bil, Sarawak with RM17.6bil and Kedah with RM12.1bil.

Lee also said that in the same period, the service and manufacturing sectors recorded RM55.06bil and RM8.84bil in investments respectively.

He added that manufacturing's RM8.84bil figure was an increase of 91% over the corresponding period last year.

"Mida has approved 340 projects and the investments will create 11,968 new job opportunities," he added.

He said Johor has the right ecosystem to continue attracting domestic and foreign investors with knowledgeable and highly skilled workers.

Lee said the state's political stability, good infrastructure such as ports and road system, as well as utilities were also among the factors which attracted investors to the state.

"We are able to attract high-tech, quality investments to strengthen our position as the preferred investment destination in Malaysia," he said.

Lee said among the high-technology companies which have invested in the state include an insulin producer from the United States, big data centres from China and Malaysia, and a printed circuit board maker from Taiwan.

"We believe their presence will attract more quality companies to set up their operations in Johor," he added.