WIEF Foundation chairman Tun Musa Hitam said, Johor Baharu will be the first non-capital city to host the annually-held WIEF. “It is significant for the WIEF to be held in Johor as it is the fastest growing region in Malaysia with sizable, significant developments, which will provide tremendous opportunities for businesses and investments,” the former deputy prime minister said during a media conference.
Also present were Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman and WIEF Foundation secretary general Tan Sri Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak. Last year’s event was held in Astana, Kazakhtan.
Musa said a special session will be also held to highlight to business leaders attending the event of the various trade and investment opportunities in Iskandar Malaysia.
Iskandar Malaysia is the most successful economic corridor project in the country, he said, adding that it had attracted multi billion ringgit in foreign and domestic investments.
“The Johor’s state government and Iskandar Malaysia’s authority have an opportunity during the forum to showcase the tremendous advantages of investing in the economic corridor as well as in other parts of Johor,” Musa said.
Meanwhile Abdul Ghani said the state government will go all out in highlighting the various plus points of investing in the state, especially in the specially-designed economic corridor of Iskandar Malaysia.
Abdul Ghani who is also the co-chairman of Iskandar Region Development Authority (IRDA) said since its launch, Iskandar Malaysia has managed to attract investments totalling RM83 billion.
“Iskandar Malaysia offers huge opportunities to potential investors in various sectors, namely manufacturing, services, theme park, tourism as well as in the oil and gas,” he said.
On this year’s WIEF, Musa said it has introduced innovative changes to cater to the growing needs of the business world, including incorporating the Young Leaders Forum and the Businesswoman Forum. This year WIEF’s theme will be “Changing Trends, New Opportunities”.
“The Forum will cover many noteworthy topics including Global Economic Outlook – World in Flux: Leadership in Changing Times, Disaster Mitigation and Management: Role of Private Sector, Harnessing the Waqf Fund for the Muslim Ummah and Banking on Islamic Finance: From Legality to Economic Value.”
On the number of participants expected to attend this year’s WIEF, he said, the organizer was projecting 1,500 attendees as well as ministers, senior government officials and heads of government.
One third of this year’s participants said Musa, will be foreigners.
This article was published at the rohama.org website on 10th June 2012.
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