By Sharen Kaur
sharen@nstp.com.my
Published in NST on March 20, 2012
ISKANDAR Malaysia targets to achieve RM20 billion worth of fresh investments per year starting this year until 2020, says Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda).
And from 2020 onwards, it plans to raise the target to RM25 billion a year until 2025, said Irda chief executive Ismail Ibrahim.
"Since the launch of Iskandar in 2006, we have been achieving new investments of between RM10 billion and RM15 billion a year. We need to raise our targets in order to achieve the cumulative investments of RM383 billion by 2025," he said.
Irda is the regulatory authority mandated to plan, promote and facilitate the development of Iskandar located in south Johor into a strong and sustainable metropolis of international standing by 2025.
And from 2020 onwards, it plans to raise the target to RM25 billion a year until 2025, said Irda chief executive Ismail Ibrahim.
"Since the launch of Iskandar in 2006, we have been achieving new investments of between RM10 billion and RM15 billion a year. We need to raise our targets in order to achieve the cumulative investments of RM383 billion by 2025," he said.
Irda is the regulatory authority mandated to plan, promote and facilitate the development of Iskandar located in south Johor into a strong and sustainable metropolis of international standing by 2025.
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As at December 31 2011, Iskandar, which is three times the size of Singapore, has attracted investments of up to RM84.9 billion, whereby 60 per cent is domestic-driven.
Last year, Iskandar achieved RM15.3 billion in new investments.
Ismail said he is bullish on the RM20 billion target, attributing growth to a number of catalyst projects like Legoland Malaysia, Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios, Newcastle University Medicine, Marlborough College and Columbia Asia Hospital.
Ismail said the deal between Khazanah Nasional Bhd and its Singapore counterpart, Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd, to undertake RM30 billion worth of development projects in Iskandar and the island state will spur growth in the region.
Irda will be coming out with programmes to woo more investments from North America, Europe, the Middle East, China, Japan, and other Asian countries including Singapore, he said.
"We have a policy of not favouring or discriminating any interested parties who want to invest in Iskandar. We are promoting nine sectors and welcome all investors," Ismail told reporters yesterday at the Global Special Economic Zones Summit.
He said Irda is in talks with several foreign-listed companies and multinational companies to set up shop in Iskandar.
Ismail expects the companies to invests in the logistics, financial services and oil & gas sectors there.
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