Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): The East Coast Economic Region (ECER) has attracted RM111.6 billion in private investments as of end 2017, surpassing its investment target for 2020 three years ahead of schedule, said the region’s development council.

“This in return has contributed significantly to ECER’s overall gross domestic product (GDP), which has increased by RM9.7 billion, equivalent to 1.8% from the 3.9% GDP growth between 2007 and 2016,” the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) said in a statement.

Of the total private investments in ECER, domestic direct investment  has emerged as a key contributor, with 46% of total investments contributed by small and medium enterprises,

Bumiputera investments too have also made significant contributions, accounting for 14% of the total private investments in ECER.

“These investments have seen a total of 177 projects worth RM16.2 billion in ECER benefiting from ECERDC’s tax incentives or the Teraju@ECER programme facilitation funds, or both,” said ECERDC.

From these investments under the Teraju@ECER programme, it is expected that more than 19,100 job opportunities will be generated for the local people, it added.

ECERDC’s chief executive officer Datuk Seri Jebasingam Issace John said these efforts have narrowed the socio-economic gap between the east and west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, and improved the livelihood of the people through greater wealth creation by increasing jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities.

“ECER’s successes over the years have created a solid foundation for the region to embark on its next phase of socio-economic transformation in line with the aspirations of the Transformasi Nasional 2050. In this regard, ECER has taken the next leap to transition towards a knowledge-intensive and productivity-driven economy geared towards Industry 4.0,” he said.

Moving forward, growth momentum across the region will be fuelled with the construction of the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL), as construction works that have commenced have indirectly created more jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for locals there, said ECERDC.

It added that connectivity between Port Klang and Kuantan Port is expected to enhance economic activities, with a boost to ECER’s GDP by up to 1.5%.

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