ISKANDAR PUTERI: The state government is confident of meeting its investment target of RM8 billion for this year.
State International Trade, Investment and Utilities Committee chairman Jimmy Puah said based on data from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Johor recorded total investments of RM3.9 billion as at June 30.
"This is in line with our target of RM8 billion for this year as usually, the investment figures would pick up in the second half," said Puah.
He said the state government will organise a trade mission to the United States of America from Sept 22 to 27.
"This is the first time the state government is going on a trade mission to the US. We will be going to San Francisco, San Jose and the Silicon Valley and our focus will be on the high technology sector.
"One of the companies that we will visit is Facebook. During the visit, we will be introducing Johor to the company so they are aware of what we can offer in terms of investment," said Puah.
He said there are numerous opportunities for Johor to attract investments from the US due to the current trade war between the country and China.
"There are a lot of US companies looking to relocate their bases out of China. This presents an opportunity to Johor," said Puah, adding that the US is among top 3 investors in Iskandar Malaysia with a total investment of US$2 billion.
He said this will be the 16th trade mission the state government has organised since August last year.
"Some missions showed immediate results. For example, after our mission to Dubai in February, a company from the United Arab Emirates agreed to invest RM40 million in Tanjung Langsat.
"During our mission to Xiamen, China recently, a group of 12 companies committed to invest RM400 million to develop an industrial park in Iskandar Malaysia focusing on smart manufacturing," said Puah.