Investor-friendly BN government to continue welcoming FDI - PM Najib

He said Malaysia continued to welcome investors from abroad, and to work with Malaysian businesses for the benefit of both investors and the locals.

"Whether the investments are from China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United States or Singapore, they add value to our economy, create more jobs, bring in new technologies. You are certainly very, very welcome to invest in Malaysia," he said when officiating at the ground-breaking for the Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) and Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport KL (LaLaport KL) development here.

Najib said other global corporations from all over the world would be able to see that Malaysia continued to be an attractive investment destination.

Citing companies such as Mitsui Fudosan, which had developed the first Mitsui Outlet Park near the KL International Airport in partnership with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad in 2015 and the second phase expansion of which was slated to open early next year, Najib said these continuous investments were a great testament to investors'' confidence in Malaysia''s long-term prospects.

The Prime Minister said investors should also disregard what the opposition said about FDI as their claims were reckless, baseless and had some racist undertones.

"As far as this government is concerned, we will continue to be an investor-friendly government," he added.

BBCC, sited on 9.4 acres (3.8 hectares) where the former Pudu Prison once stood, will be a fully integrated lifestyle and business centre.

LaLaport KL, which is a key component of the development with a net lettable area of 0.9 million square feet, will become the first LaLaport KL branded shopping mall in Southeast Asia when it opens in 2021.

Najib said BBCC was a significant national-level development as it was a successful example of the kind of public-private collaboration that the government was keen to encourage.

He said he was also happy to note that the BBCC project, together with the impressive Mitsui Mall, was yet another mode of how the Economic Transformation Programme was bearing fruit in terms of attracting foreign investments while helping Malaysian companies to grow and expand at the same time.

"I am certain this iconic development will draw people from near and far, and with our investor friends from Japan working in partnership with the Malaysian joint developers, I am confident that BBCC will succeed in further uplifting the image of Kuala Lumpur as an international modern metropolis," he said.

BBCC Development Sdn Bhd, the developer of BBCC, is a consortium comprising three companies, namely the government-linked company Urban Development Authority (UDA), which is the landowner, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and property developer EcoWorld Group.