ISKANDAR PUTERI: The government of British Columbia will open a new Trade and Investment Representative (TIR) Office in Johor Baru by January next year.
British Columbia Minister of Finance Michael de Jong said the office will help to develop constructive and productive trade and investment opportunities in the Southeast Asia region.
“The leading role that Johor has taken within Asean has contributed to the decision for British Columbia, Canada to establish its Trade and Investment Representative Office in Malaysia, specifically in Johor Baru. We are very excited about it.
“We see great potential in the days and weeks ahead. It is a mark of our confidence in Malaysia, particularly in this part the country,” said de Jong when speaking to reporters during his three-day trade mission to Malaysia at Kota Iskandar today.
Also present were Johor Tourism, Trade and Consumerism Committee chairman Datuk Tee Siew Kiong and Johor Economic Planning Unit director Sallehuddin Hassan.
Once operational, the new facility will become British Columbia’s third TIR office in the region after Manila and Jakarta.
He said the establishment of the TIR office in Johor was buoyed by British Columbia’s existing investments in the state in the field of oil and gas, aviation, aerospace and finance sectors.
He addd experts from British Columbia were also exploring possible collaboration with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia to set up a satellite imagery centre of excellence in Johor, which has great potential to be one of the most technologically advanced centre in its scope.