Reaching out: Onn Hafiz signing a plaque at the opening of the Johor Media Club’s annual general meeting. Looking on are the club’s president Mohamad Fauzi Ishak (right, in blue) and Johor education and information committee chairman Aznan Tamin (far right).
JOHOR BARU: Johor’s top officials are expected to meet with potential investors in Dubai next week in a bid to bring more foreign direct investments into the state.
Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the trip to the United Arab Emirates comes after the state government’s productive meetings with investors in countries such as Singapore, China, Japan and South Korea.
“Next week will be an interesting one as we are set to meet up again with mixed martial arts fighter Khabib (Nurmagomedov).
“We will be meeting with other potential investors and will visit Dubai’s special financial zone. There is a lot of interest in Johor,” he said when opening the Johor Media Club’s annual general meeting on Thursday night.
Promoting Johor to the world would attract more investors to the state – which will create jobs, opportunities and economic growth for the people, he added.
The Johor delegation, led by Onn Hafiz, engaged with 83 companies in South Korea late last month in an effort to promote the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ).
After that trip, state officials headed to Japan where Japanese company Fuji Oil Asia Pte Ltd, which produces oil and fat products, signed an agreement with Johor Plantations Group Bhd to construct a refinery in Kota Tinggi with an initial development value of RM500mil.
In March, Onn Hafiz and his team visited Shenzhen, China, which has become the inspiration for Johor’s economic transformation.
Meanwhile, Onn Hafiz said the incentives for the JS-SEZ agreement, which is set to be inked between the Malaysian and Singaporean governments in December, were being finalised.
“I had an online meeting with Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Dr Amir Hamzah Azizan on Thursday afternoon to finalise the incentives for all the sectors and flagship areas that we want to promote for the JS-SEZ.
“Our upcoming challenge is to ensure that whatever has been planned this year will be executed next year.
“It is not good enough just having things on paper; the key is in the execution,” he added.
He noted that Johor is set to record its highest ever revenue of more than RM2bil this year.
“When the state’s revenue increases, it is our responsibility as leaders to channel the money back to the people through various programmes and initiatives,” added Onn Hafiz.
