JASIN (Bernama) – The Malaysia Industrial Development Authority has approved investments worth RM1 billion in Melaka for the January-September, 2018 period, says Chief Minister Adly Zahari.
He said the investments were made in seven sectors, namely medical, food, electronics, petroleum, transportation, metal manufacturing and non-metallic mineral sectors, and comprised both local and foreign investments.
“The total investments recorded were far lower than the state government’s target of RM5 billion a year. This was due to several factors, including the shift in the country’s political scenario and the change in the government, which is now led by Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“We (PH) took over the Melaka’s administration in May and part of the investments are still being discussed and cannot be finalised this year,” he told reporters after officiating a job interview for local workers organised by glass manufacturer and supplier Xinyi Energy Smart (M) Sdn Bhd here today.
The interview programme was held with the cooperation of Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka.
Also present were Xinyi Managing Director Datuk Liu Xiao Rong and Peninsular Malaysia Labour Department Deputy Director-General Paeza Rosdi.
Meanwhile, Adly said the state government had undertaken various efforts and initiatives to attract investments into the state by meeting both foreign and local companies.
He said the government was ready to consider requests from investors as long as they do not bring any negative effects to the people or the state’s economy.
“We will ensure that any investments made will create jobs for locals. For example, we’ve supported and helped Xinyi’s invest in the state and ensure that their import and export processes were undertaken efficiently to enable them to increase their investment in Melaka and give positive impact the state’s economy,” he said.
Adly said Xinyi has created 1,200 jobs since its plant in the Elkay Industrial Park, Lipat Kajang commenced operations in 2015.
“About 35 per cent of the jobs were staffed by local workers, foreigners (45 per cent) and short-term technical assistants (20 per cent),” he added.
Xinyi, which had invested RM2.7 billion, has the capacity to produce 3,200 tonnes of float glass and 1.99 tonnes of solar glass glass per day.
-BERNAMA
