Saturday, March 24, 2012

How Is It Different in Iskandar Malaysia? | Iskandar Malaysia

How Is It Different in Iskandar Malaysia? | Iskandar Malaysia


The factors that make Iskandar Malaysia such an enticing place for anyone to live and work in is based on a series of core factors:
A package of good fundamentals and strengths such as existing infrastructure, cultural familiarity (English-speaking work culture), friendly policies and an ease-of-doing business environment.
Strategic location: Johor is within close proximity of various other global hubs.
Space for expansion and quality living; space is accommodated not only for expansion in businesses but personal lives as well.
Opportunities for doing business, enhancing one's career and improving the quality of life.
Main clusters that will drive growth in Iskandar Malaysia:
Electrical & Electronics
Petro- & Oleochemicals
Food & Agro Processing
Logistics & Related Services
Tourism
Health Services
Educational Services
Financial Services
ICT & Creative Industries

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

IRDA targets RM20b investments a year


KUALA LUMPUR: The Iskandar Reginal Devolopment Authority (IRDA), tasked with turning south Johor a thriving economic hub, aims to attract at least RM20 billion of committed investment annually from 2012 to 2018 into Iskandar malaysia to achieve a total investment of RM383 billion by 2025,said its CEO Ismail Ibrahim. "We have a long term target of RM383 billion, by the time we reach maturity in 2025. This is the cumulative committed investmentfrom the year 2006," Ismail told reporters on IRDA's insight and potential investment plan yesterday. "Last year, we managed to achieve RM15.3 billion. From 2012, on year to yea basis, we are working on the target of RM20billion of committed investments per year because we are confident with the growing investments coming in and with the right clustering, we'll be able to achieve the target," he said. Ismail said the economic corridor has drawn a cumulative investment of RM84.9 billion as of last December, of which 60% are domestic investments, and the remaining 40% foreign investments. He said the Iskandar Malaysia has progressed rapidly, with the several key developments completion. Progress is being achieve across multiple sectors including education, healtcare, leisure tourism, property, creative and retail. "We are now able to create better investment eco-system and we have catalyst projects that will spur the developments," he said. On whether IRDA is eyeing new investment into Iskandar Malaysia, Ismail said it is currently in discussion with potential local and overseas partners, particularly in tourism, oil and gas, and financial services. IRDA is a federal statutory body entrusted with regulating and driving the development of Iskandar Malaysia and its core functions include planning, promoting and facilitating the development of Iskandar Malaysia.

RM22 Billion Mersing Laguna Project

Developer building $9.2b tourist playground on reclaimed land
09 Mar 2012 15:45 by REME AHMAD
JOHOR BARU: A private Malaysian developer is planning to reclaim 810ha of land off sleepy Mersing town in north-east Johor in an ambitious RM22 billion (S$9.2 billion) project to create a tourist playground.

Led by a member of Johor royalty, the developer named Radiant Starfish Development said it plans to build hotels, serviced apartments, waterfront villas and a marina on three new islands created by reclaiming the land.

A RM1 billion theme park is being planned on the mainland.

Called Mersing Laguna, the three islands together will be larger than one of Singapore's biggest residential estates, Ang Mo Kio, which is about 680ha in size.

Mersing town, about a 90-minute drive from Johor Baru, is often visited by Singaporeans as a starting point for exploring Malaysian islands in the South China Sea, such as Pulau Tioman, and for fishing holidays on kelongs.

The town is also located near the Endau-Rompin National Park, a rainforest popular with jungle trekkers and nature lovers. Offshore are 42 small islands, which are part of the Johor marine park.

Unlike most big projects going up in Johor that form part of Iskandar Malaysia, the economic development zone in southern Johor, Mersing Laguna is part of investments in the East Coast Economic Region.

The region encompasses Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Mersing district in Johor - mostly rural towns and districts which have been targeted for development.

The three reclaimed islands will be linked to mainland Johor by separate bridges, artist's impressions released by the company yesterday showed.

When asked why land is being reclaimed when there is ample land in Malaysia, Radiant Starfish president and chief executive Ungku Safian Abdullah said in an interview yesterday that he wants to retain the rustic feel around Mersing as that is what tourists look out for in eco-tourism.

This includes the fishing villages, the 36km-long beachfront and the fruit trees.

'These are my tourist products. You can buy fish from the fishermen at the jetty, get fresh fruit. How much would it cost to set up such a fishing village?' he asked.

The dredging of sand from the bottom of the South China Sea and the land reclamation will take about three years and some RM4.2 billion.

It will be carried out by China's Sinohydro Group, which was involved in building the Three Gorges Dam and Sarawak's Bakun Dam.

The islands raised from the sea will have to be left alone for just a few months before low-rise hotels, apartments and villas can be built on them.

Radiant Starfish, as the project's master developer, yesterday signed agreements in Johor Baru with several parties to kick-start the project.

The agreements included one to buy several parcels of land near Mersing town, another to dredge sand for the land reclamation and one for the development of the 80ha onshore theme park by two companies from China.

Inevitably, the huge size and cost of the project raised questions on its financing viability, as Malaysia has a mixed record on mega projects.

Ungku Safian said the project would be spread over seven years and that the company has 'presold' all the 22 parcels of land on the three upcoming islands to investors.

'It is an ambitious project. A lot of people will scoff at the period of seven years (to build up everything). I take that as a challenge,' he said.

Radiant Starfish is 30 per cent owned by foreign investors, including those from China, with the remainder being held by Malaysians. The company has a paid-up capital of about RM700 million.
Originally Published in The Straits Times