Press statement by Teresa Kok, Selangor State Senior EXCO on 24 February 2010 in Shah Alam
Selangor achieves industrial investment worth RM 6.76b, the highest number of industrial projects (278 projects) and the highest number of job opportunities (over 20,000 jobs) in Malaysia in 2009
MIDA (Malaysia Industrial Development Authority)’s latest data on investment in Malaysia for 2009 by state shows that Selangor achieved a total value of approved industrial investment of RM 6.76 billion for the year 2009.
This total exceeds by far the RM 4 billion target set for Selangor for the year 2009 in light of the economic downturn worldwide.
Highest number of industrial projects
Selangor also achieved the highest number of industrial projects approved in Malaysia with 278 projects, accounting for 36.3% of the whole of Malaysia. Selangor was followed by Johor in second place with 150 projects and Penang in third place with 104 projects.
Of the 278 industrial projects which were approved in Selangor, 182 of them were new projects while the remaining 96 were expansion projects.
Highest number of jobs created
In addition, Selangor also achieved the highest number of employment opportunities created in 2009 with 20,753 jobs.
Domestic investment substantial
RM 4,007,064,182 or 59.2% of Selangor’s investment comes from foreign investors while domestic investors account for RM 2,752,526,769 or 40.8%, which is substantial. This shows that domestic investment remains important to Selangor state and domestic investors are continuing to invest under the current Pakatan Rakyat government.
Sarawak leads due to single aluminum smelting project
Although Sarawak leads every state with RM 8.451 billion worth of industrial investment, this achievement was largely due to massive investment into a single aluminum smelting project in Bintulu worth over USD 2 billion (approximately RM7 billion).
Such a project is not suitable for Selangor due to its highly polluting and power-hungry nature.
If this aluminum smelting project is excluded from consideration, Selangor would be the top state with the highest total investment in Malaysia.
Selangor still the best choice for investors
Although Malaysia and the world may still be experiencing economic downturn, the high number of industrial projects in Selangor shows that Selangor’s economy is still robust and still the most attractive destination for foreign and domestic investors.
This data from MIDA clearly proves that the accusation by some parties that investment in Selangor has dropped since Pakatan Rakyat became government is false and baseless.
Teresa Kok
Note: I attached the industrial investment statistics for Selangor for 2009 provided by MIDA with my press statement as supporting evidence. You may download the PDF of these tables here: Industrial investment statistics for Selangor for 2009 24 Feb 2010.