A local company, Terang Jaya Kayangan (M) Sdn Bhd has been appointed by investors from the three countries to carry out the planning for the project.

The chief executive officer of Terang Jaya Kayangan, Datuk Zainal Abidin Hamid, said the development of the tourist township will involve the building of a theme park, floating town, shopping centre, hotel and five-star resort as well as education centres and tourist based hospital.

It would also have low cost, middle cost and exclusive housing estates as well as government offices.

The development site is strategically located as it will be close to the beach and surrounded by lush vegetation and this is expected to attract the interest of investors particularly from the Middle East who are wishing to make Malaysia their second home, Zainal Abidin told a press conference here Thursday.

Work on the project is expected to take off in June next year and its completion is expected in 2020.

Construction will be carried out in three phases begining with the eco tourist spots and a floating township while the second phase will see the development of hotel while the third phase will include an Islamic financial centre as well as cultural centre.

When the township is fully completed, it is expected to provide a total of 40,000 job opportunities.

Source: Bernama

He said with leeway in equity control, it would enable them to have 100 percent ownership.

“Malaysia is still a growing market for franchising. There is much room for expansion,” he told reporters after officiating the Malaysian Franchise Association (MFA) annual general meeting here.

Currently, Mukhriz said the franchise sector contributed about six percent to the country’s retail sector.

Earlier in his speech, Mukhriz said the franchise business in developed countries contributed more than 50 percent to the retail sector.

He said that in the United States, franchises generated US.3 trillion in business while in Australia, it was US30 billion. The countries generated in turn, 21 million and 10 million jobs respectively.

Mukhriz also said that the franchise industry in Malaysia needed a long-term business masterplan or franchise blueprint

Source: Bernama

The state government is welcoming foreign investors wishing to commercialise padi planting in Sabah in order to increase rice production in the state, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yahya Hussin said.

He said Sabah still had vast amounts of suitable land for large scale rice growing.

“We welcome foreign investors to invest in Sabah to develop commercial padi cultivation projects whether in collaboration with government department and agencies or with individual owners of padi fields,” he said.

Yahya, who is also State Minister of Agriculture and Food Industries, said this in a statement issued following a courtesy call from the Shenzhen (China) based Tian YiDa Group at Wisma Pertanian Sabah, near here Monday.

Tian YiDa Group through its subsidiary, Tian YiFei (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd has indicated interest to invest in commercial padi planting through joint venture with the state government. It is also looking at investment opportunities in other potential sectors of the state.

Yahya said the state’s rice sufficiency level was at 30 percent currently.

Meanwhile, Daisy Mao who led the group, said the company had vast experience in padi cultivation and used the latest technology through joint efforts with Yuan Long Ping High-Tech Agriculture centre which is a founder and producer of world famous high-yielding hybrid rice varieties.

For a start, she said the group was planning to send experts from China to carry out studies on soil and climate suitability as well as to look at suitable areas for the purpose.

Source: Bernama

Held from April 19 to 29, the trade and investment mission will enhance bilateral trade and investments, with seminars and business meetings organized in the cities of Frankfurt, Milan and London.

During the road show, ECER Development Council representatives will focus on the region’s core economic thrusts in oil, gas and petrochemical, manufacturing, agriculture and tourism.

Malaysia is an attractive destination for foreign investments, particularly in the manufacturing sector, with the country recording 38 per cent increase in approved FDIs amounting to RM46.1 billion or 73.4 per cent increase in 2008 from RM33.4 billion in 2007.

This represented the fifth consecutive year of growth in FDIs with RM20.2 billion in 2006, RM17.9 billion in 2005 and RM13.1 billion in 2004.

Germany ranks tenth among Malaysia’s global trading partners. It was an important source of FDI in 2008, with investments of RM4.4 billion compared with RM3.7 billion a year earlier. Germany was the second largest source of FDI in 2007, with RM3.7 billion compared with RM232.3 million in 2006.

For the first 11 months of 2008, bilateral trade between Malaysia and Italy amounted to US.22 billion, and Italy has remained Malaysia’s fifth largest trading partner within the European Union.

Malaysia’s trade with Italy has grown two-fold from US.22 billion in 2001 to US.41 billion in 2007. Investment inflows from Italy into Malaysia from 2003 to October 2008 totaled US18.07 million in 24 approved projects.

For the first 10 months of 2008, inflows amounted to US1.57 million, an increase of 42 per cent from the previous year.

Meanwhile, UK’s strong ties with Malaysia, a familiar commercial and legal framework and the widespread use of English are all conducive to a vibrant business relationship.

UK exports in goods and services to Malaysia in 2005 were valued at £1520m, placing Malaysia as the UK’s second largest export market in South East Asia, after Singapore. The UK is also one of the largest investors in Malaysia, investing over £20bn in the past 30 years.