As most of all the Malaysians are aware, with the 13th General Election is just around the corner , the GE13 topic is the most talk about topic be it at work, school, university, family dinner, mamak, forum or WhatsApp.
PropCafe.Net recently came across two pieces interesting articles published by The Star and Bernama about the future of Iskandar of Johor Malaysia and would like to share it here….
CIMB Research bullish on Iskandar Malaysia Growth Story – By The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Equities Research is still upbeat on the growth prospects in the Iskandar Malaysia region in Johor after a visit to various sites there.
“We visited Nusajaya, Setia Eco Gardens, Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Mah Sing’s Meridin@Medini while hosting Benalec, Johor Petroleum Dev Corporation, Kulim Malaysia and Axis REIT briefings as well,” it said in a report released on Friday.
It noted UEM Land had an upper hand in choosing its joint venture partners in Nusajaya now given that the brighter prospects seen as Iskandar reached a tipping point in 2012.
It also said demand for industrial property in the region was surprisingly strong.
“For example, SP Setia‘s non-Bumi industrial properties in Setia Business Park priced between RM3.2mil and RM8.5mil have been fully taken up while Axis Group‘s phase 1 of SME City was sold out in two hours. “Many buyers are Singapore small and medium enterprises looking to shift to a lower-cost destination. We view this very positively as it will help bring development, jobs and economic activity to the state.
CIMB Research said this would in turn have a multiplier effect on Iskandar and boost demand for properties.
It added Ascendas Land’s joint venture with UEM Land to develop a 519-acre industrial park could accelerate the booming development.
The research house pointed out that property developers continue to provide the best exposure to Iskandar but plantation companies, such as Kulim and Genting Plantations; oil and gas companies, such as Dialog, as well as contractors, such as Benalec were some of the beneficiaries of the advancement there.
Source & Credit to : The Star www.thestar.com.my
Investment To Iskandar Malaysia/Johor May Be Affected if Opposition Rules – Nur Jazlan – By Bernama
JOHOR BAHARU, April 7 (Bernama) — UDA Holdings Bhd chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed has expressed his concern and worry at the possibility that the investment worth billions of ringgit received by Iskandar Malaysia and Johor will be stopped if the voters were to make a wrong decision and give their mandates to the opposition in the 13th general election.”The opposition has blatantly rejected and said that they will cancel all projects implemented by the government to boost Johor’s economy. So, the voters must really think wisely about the impact of their votes to the economy of Johor and Iskandar Malaysia,” he told Bernama in an interview here today.
Nur Jazlan, a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), United Kingdom and the incumbent of Pulai parliamentary seat, said if the opposition rejected the development projects implemented by the government in Johor (and Iskandar Malaysia), it would affect the overall efforts to achieve the objectives of Vision 2020.
Since its establishment in 2006, Iskandar Malaysia, which covers an area of 2,217 sq km in southern Johor, had lured some RM110 billion worth of domestic and foreign investment.
Last year alone, the Barisan Nasional (BN) government had launched the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC) and the Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) projects.
The two projects, which will make Malaysia the hub for Asia’s oil and gas industry, are expected to be completed and fully operational by 2016.
Several local and foreign investors had also pledged their commitment to invest billions of ringgit in PIPC, while Petronas was expected to invest RM60 billion in the RAPID project.
However, the opposition, in their 13th general election’s manifesto launched last February, said that they would review the suitability of the RAPID project.
Even before the launch of the manifesto, several opposition leaders had also called for the RAPID project be scrapped, downsized or moved to the existing Petronas’ petroleum complex in Kerteh, Terengganu.
Meanwhile, Nur Jazlan said it was feared that the confidence of Singaporean investors in Iskandar Malaysia would be badly affected if the opposition managed to win big in Johor.
“This Singaporean investors have been investing actively in Iskandar and it proves that they also believed that BN will win in the 13th general election, but if the voters gave their votes to the opposition, the investors’ confidence will be crushed,” he said.
If the Singaporean investors were not confident that BN would win the general election, Nur Jazlan said they would not invest in Johor and Iskandar Malaysia and would prefer to wait until after the general election to make their decision.
Source & Credit : Bernama http://www.bernama.com
Hollywood of South East Asia – Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios