Iskandar benefits SMEs

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.