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JOHOR needs to review its strategies to continue attracting quality as well as capital-intensive and high-tech investments into the state, say business leaders. Iskandar Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry secretary-general Md Salikon Sarpin said the state had the right ecosystem to attract world-class investors. Though Johor was not listed as among the four states which outperformed the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth and surpassing the national average in 2022, he said it was not a setback. “It should drive Johor to work even harder to continue developing and positioning itself as the top investment destination in Malaysia,” he added. He was commenting on the report by the Statistics Department which listed Penang (13.1%), Selangor (11.9%), Pahang (10.8%) and Kuala Lumpur (9.2%) outperforming the country’s GDP. The department said the four states’ growth contributed significantly to the country’s overall progress, surpassing the national average in 2022. Malaysia’s GDP grew to 8.7% last year. The report also stated that the manufacturing sector was the key economic driver for Penang with its electrical, electronic and optical products, and increased global demand for semiconductors.

KUALA LUMPUR: Johor should implement several strategies to boost real estate development and transactions while drawing foreign direct investment (FDI). According to an expert in the field, attracting FDI requires a planned approach and a favourable business environment. "The government of Johor State must make sure that its infrastructure, including its ports, airports, and utility systems, is well-developed while Malaysia seeks concept proposals to revive the high-speed rail project with Singapore. This encourages the establishment of commercial activities and brings down operating costs," he told NST Property.

Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to set up a special task force to study the establishment of a Johor-Singapore special economic zone. The special task force will report its progress to the leaders when they meet at the Malaysia-Singapore Leaders' Retreat in October this year. This was announced by Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli and the republic's National Development Minister Desmond Lee at a joint press conference here yesterday. Earlier, both ministers co-chaired the 16th Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia (JMCIM) at Shangri-la Hotel.

JOHOR BAHRU: Graduan digalakkan menceburi industri hiliran minyak dan gas serta industri petrokimia bagi menampung kekurangan kira-kira 20,000 tenaga kerja mahir dalam sektor tersebut di negara ini. Pemangku Ketua Eksekutif Johor Petroleum Development Corporation Berhad (JPDC), Izhar Hifnei Ismail berkata, kekurangan tenaga kerja itu membabitkan pelbagai bidang dalam industri tersebut seperti pemulihan loji (plant turnaround) dan bidang penyelenggaraan. Katanya,bagi mengisi kekosongan itu, JPDC menyediakan program-program latihan peningkatan kemahiran dan latihan kemahiran semula seperti Program Kemahiran Minyak dan Gas (SOGA) yang menawarkan 45 kursus teknikal berkaitan. “Program latihan dan kemahiran itu membabitkan kerja-kerja penyelenggaraan, pembaikan dan baik pulih, pengurusan keselamatan dan pengurusan tenaga, yang mana kesemuanya merupakan kerja-kerja penting bagi memastikan kelancaran operasi loji-loji di Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC).