JOHOR BARU: About 90% of approved investments received by Johor in the first quarter of the year was through the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ).
Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, who disclosed this, said the Investment Malaysia Facilitation Centre Johor (IMFC-J), which opened in February, played a crucial role in facilitating the approved investments.
“A large portion of the state’s approved numbers is attributed to the JS-SEZ. In light of what is happening globally, it is important that Malaysia, through the JS-SEZ for example, focuses on bringing in the right kind of investments and continues to strengthen the case for diversifying some of the supply chains.
“We should refocus on issues or areas where we can cooperate to mitigate the impacts,” he told a press conference at the inaugural JS-SEZ Joint Business and Investment Forum held at the Persada Johor International Convention Centre here yesterday.
Tengku Zafrul said the tariff threats by the United States was a chief concern of industry players.
He said his impending visit to Washington with Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan would be to engage with relevant parties and look at areas for cooperation.
“We will also address the importance of the Malaysia-US relationship when it comes to trade and investments and also the importance of Asean in the whole supply chain.
“My purpose with my team is to see how we can also explain the role that Malaysia plays in the global supply chain, in supporting US companies based here and how they play an important role in the US economy,” he said, adding that this effort would take time.
During his keynote address earlier, the minister reiterated that Malaysia would not introduce retaliatory tariffs against the US, saying it would be counterproductive from Asean’s perspective.
He said the region sought to engage constructively with the US in a forward-looking manner to strengthen economic ties and address shared challenges.
Both ministers are scheduled to meet US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and other senior White House officials during their three-day mission this week.
Tengku Zafrul said many saw the tariff issue as a test of Asean’s unity and centrality, adding that the sense of togetherness on the issue has been encouraging.
The two-day forum, themed “JS-SEZ: Bridging Economies, Strengthening Supply Chains”, saw the participation of some 1,000 policymakers, business leaders, GLCs, institutional investors and industry representatives.
