SBF business mission to Iskandar Malaysia to apprise Singapore companies on latest opportunities
Singapore, Thursday, 30 September 2010 - The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) has led a 120-strong business mission to Iskandar Malaysia on 30th September 2010 for its members to receive an update on the latest developments and business opportunities there. The delegation was received by the CEO of Iskandar Regional Development Authority or IRDA, Mr. Ismail Ibrahim as well as other leaders of the other Malaysian and Johor state government agencies such as Ministry of International Trade & Industry (MITI), Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), MATRADE and Johor State Investment Corporation.
Representing both multi-national companies and small & medium-sized enterprises across sectors such as the manufacturing and engineering clusters, transport and logistics, real estate and township development, the delegates also had the opportunity to meet the Chief Police Officer (CPO) of Johor Police state contingent and senior executives of UEM Land and Johor Corporation.
This is the second business mission to Iskandar organised by SBF this year, following the one on 16th June 2010, where more than 88 delegates attended the programme.
Mission leader, Dr. Gan See Khem, Executive Chairman & Managing Director of Health Management International Limited, a member company of SBF, said, "I am glad to say that we are now seeing a higher level of confidence from the Singapore business community in the on-going development of Iskandar Malaysia."
Dr. Gan, who is also a member of the Malaysia - Singapore Business Council (MSBC), added, "Today's large business delegation of over 100 business representatives no doubt signals a surging groundswell of interest in the business opportunities offered by Iskandar Malaysia. This attests to the commercial and economic significance of Malaysia as a business and investment destination for Singapore companies from almost all parts of the Singapore business eco-system."
Dr. Gan's Health Management International (HMI) had recently opened a Regency Specialist Hospital in Iskandar Malaysia which has attracted patients from Malaysia, and increasingly from Singapore, Indonesia and South Asia.
Iskandar Malaysia has already attracted investments of RM 62.32 billion up to June this year; which has surpassed the 2010 target of RM 47 billion, compared to RM 55 billion for the year 2009. This is indeed a solid testimony to the business community in Singapore that Iskandar Malaysia is moving ahead despite the economic difficulties and challenges of yesteryear.
As of May this year, a total of 218 new manufacturing projects have been approved in Iskandar Malaysia since 2006. These 218 projects with a total cumulative investment amount of almost US$1 billion will employ some 24,000 Malaysian workers.
In terms of realized investments in the manufacturing sector by Singapore companies in 2009, the state of Johor took the lion's share of 1,432 projects out of the total of 2,561 projects or almost 56%. The Johor share amounted to US$3 billion or almost 46% of the total Singapore investments in Malaysia's manufacturing sector of US$6.5 billion.
This inflow of Singapore investments into Malaysia especially into the manufacturing sector is expected to continue with key driving factors such as the the physical proximity of Malaysia with Singapore; the historical social and economic ties which transcends our borders; and the common shared colonial heritage of English business laws. Moreover, the exciting developments that are now taking shape in Iskandar Malaysia offer many new opportunities for Singapore enterprises to work together with their Malaysian partners to forge new business alliances to engage the markets beyond.
"Singapore and Malaysia are not only closest neighbours but also are among the major trading partners to each other. This is complemented by substantial investment flows in both directions. The dynamic developments in Iskandar Malaysia provides even greater opportunities for Singapore companies for further collaboration for mutual benefit in this regard" said Mr V K Rajan, who is Vice Chairman of SBF International Relations Committee and Senior Consultant to Chesterton Suntec International Pte Ltd. He was Singapore's former Ambassador to various countries including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Business delegate, Mr. Chan Chong Beng, Chairman, Goodrich Global Pte Ltd, said, "With Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib?s commitments to establish stronger relations between Singapore and Malaysia on 21 May, 2010, it is definitely worthwhile for Singaporean businessmen to relook at this iconic project: Iskandar Malaysia. Iskandar Malaysia's sizable development of up to 500 acres of land which is designed to be vibrant, culturally distinctive, and yet offering seamless connectivity in the infrastructure, will definitely create new business avenues for companies like Goodrich Global."
About Malaysia - Singapore Business Council (MSBC)
With the surge in interest in Iskandar Malaysia among Singapore-based corporate entities, MSBC has now been engaged by both Malaysian and Singapore business communities to assist Singapore companies investing into Iskandar Malaysia. The Singapore Council Members of MSBC led by Mr. Cheng Wai Keung as the Singapore Co-Chair have been meeting the Malaysian Minister for International Trade and Industry, Dato Seri Mustapa on a regular basis through a series of business dialogue sessions in held Singapore.
It is worthy to note that it was through one of these business dialogue sessions with MITI Minister that the idea for the establishment of an SME facilitation unit within the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) was mooted. This unit aims to systematically serve and facilitate Singapore-based SMEs in setting up their businesses in IM.
The 5th MSBC Meeting is expected to be held in Kuala Lumpur sometime in 2011 wherein the business leaders of both the Singapore and Malaysia councils will meet and discuss key business issues of the day affecting our bilateral business and commercial links.
Please see Annex A for list of Singapore and Malaysia Council Members of the MSBC.
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