US won't withdraw or reduce investment in Iskandar - Johor MB

The state government believes United States (US) investors will consider various factors before making any decision to withdraw or reduce their investments in Johor, said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

He said with Donald Trump as the new US president-elect, the state government cannot reject the possibility of new policies that would influence global markets and investments.

"But we believe any (US) company will look at a variety of factors. In the US also, the private sector and the government are two separate entities," he said at a question and answer session at the State Legislative Assembly sitting here today.

Mohamed Khaled was replying to a supplementary question from Tan Chen Choon (DAP-Jementah) on how the state government would address the possibility of US investors withdrawing or reducing their investments in the state in the wake of new political developments in the US.

Mohamed Khaled said statistics from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority show that the US was the third biggest investor in Iskandar Malaysia from 2006 to September 2016 with investments worth RM7.06 billion, comprising RM5.63 billion in the manufacturing sector and RM1.43 billion in the services sector.

Other investors in Iskandar included China, Singapore, Spain, Japan, Korea, Germany, Australia and the United Arab Emirates, he said.

For the same period, China's investments stood at RM23.78 billion including in manufacturing (RM1.37 billion), property (RM21.98 billion) and other sectors (RM430 million), he added.

China remained the biggest foreign investor in Iskandar, followed by Singapore with investments worth RM20.01 billion, he noted.

To another supplementary question, from Norshida Ibrahim (BN-Buloh Kasap) on incentives provided by the state government to attract foreign investors, Mohamed Khaled said these incentives are normally provided by the federal government and not the state government.

However, he said, investments made in Johor are based on a range of factors, including the country's political stability.

"Secondly, running a business in Johor is less costly compared to Singapore, with our costs 60 per cent lower, and 30 per cent less than in Kuala Lumpur.

"We are also close to markets in Asia. We can reach by air in six hours the main cities in Japan, Seoul (Korea), Beijing (China) and Australia," said Mohamed Khaled, who is also Permas Assemblyman. --Bernama