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Iskandar benefits SMEs [ 22-12-2011 ]
JOHOR BARU: Development in Iskandar Malaysia will bring economic opportunities and benefits not only to the big companies and investors but also to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda) chief executive officer Ismail Ibrahim said Irda had never sidelined the SMEs under its Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP), which runs from 2006 to 2025, to transform Iskandar into an international metropolis.
“We welcome all investors regardless of their size, what's important is that Iskandar and its residents will benefit from their presence in the long run,'' he told StarBizWeek.
Ismail said many multinational corporations (MNCs) and SMEs from Europe, China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan have shown strong interest in investing in Iskandar.
He added that local SMEs would definitely benefit as they could work closely with their foreign counterparts in term of technology transfer and exploring new export markets.
There are more than 26,000 SMEs in Johor at the end of 2008 and 65% of them are located in Iskandar.
“Local SMEs should not regard the presence of the MNCs and foreign SMEs in Iskandar as a threat to them but more like opening windows of opportunities,'' said Ismail.
He said the SMEs supplying parts and components for the MNCs under the vendor system would benefit as manufacturing was one of the main economic activities in Iskandar.
SMEs would remain at the backbone of the country's economy as they have been around for years, supporting the big companies and MNCs, according to Ismail.
He noted that several of the public-listed companies from Johor started as SMEs and through perseverance and hard work had now emerged as multi-million dollar entities.
He said the SMEs should utilise the Iskandar Malaysia Service Centre located at the Irda headquarters in Danga Bay here to get a better insight on the business opportunities available for them in the growth corridor.
Johor executive chairman for Unity, Human Resources, Science, Technology and Innovation M. Asojan said more than 55,000 new jobs were created since the inception of Iskandar Malaysia on Nov 4, 2006.
“More job opportunities will be created in the coming years based on the momentum taking place in Iskandar Malaysia and the progress it made in the last five years,'' he said.
Asojan said there were plenty of choices for job seekers from the nine clusters in Iskandar Malaysia and candidates must know what was good for them based on their academic qualification, skills and knowledge.
The economic clusters are electrical and electronics, petrochemical and oleochemical, food and agro processing, logistics and related services, tourism, health services, educational services, financial services and ICT & Creative Industries.
He said the newly opened Johor Premium Outlets in Kulaijaya had created 3,000 job opportunities while Legoland Theme Park which was set to open by the end of 2012 would require thousands of workers as well.
“Iskandar Malaysia needs about 250,000 high-skilled workers within the next 10 to 15 years, bringing the numbers to 850,000 from 600,000 presently,'' added Asojan.
Meanwhile, Gromutual Bhd did not see being a medium-sized property developer was a hindrance for the company in benefitting from the development of Iskandar Malaysia.
Executive director Teo Yu Hong said if too much focus was given by developers in Iskanar Malaysia on high-end residential properties, it could lead to a property overhang.
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