ISKANDAR PUTERI: Large-scale development and increased foreign investments in Johor are the focus of the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) in organising the first instalment of Road2Growth (R2G) Southern Region this year.
Chief Executive Officer Mohamad Hazani Hassan said Johor’s rising stature as a strong economic state is one of the reasons MTDC is eager to introduce its technology, innovative solutions in Industry 4.0 (IR4.0) and digitalisation to the participants at R2G Southern Region.
“Over the past few years, the growth in Johor has been phenomenal with large-scale development and increased foreign investments making Johor their port of call.
“We highly encourage entrepreneurs, especially those from Johor, to seize this unique opportunity to further expand your business,” he said.
He also mentioned that in the R2G programme in Johor, participants were able to choose from any of the 7 tracks, specifically on commercial funding, developmental funding, ecosystem partnerships, business and technology consulting training, talent development and business innovation.
Speakers include representatives from Bursa Malaysia Bhd, Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd (MIDF), SME Bank and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI).
“Overall, MTDC’s R2G aims to offer valuable insights and make the right support and resources available to Malaysian technopreneurs to compete on a global level so that they may continue significantly to the technological advancements and the economic growth of the country,” he added.
Additionally, MTDC is looking to increase its investment in Johor, especially in companies supporting data centres.
“In Johor, MTDC has invested and funded 65 companies with a total of RM110.9 million and 2 of these companies have been listed on Bursa Malaysia.
“The state is currently a hot spot with the introduction of many data centres so we are looking at that potential for investing,” said Hazani.
According to him, MTDC did not set any specific target for growth in investment in the state but is actively looking at early stage technology companies.
“We want to create the ecosystem that supports the supply chain. It can be in the energy area because data centres are power hungry, or even blockchain,” he added.
— BERNAMA
