Development of Malaysian business district with Chinese investment kicks off

KUALA LUMPUR -- The development of a major Malaysian business district by a consortium which includes a major Chinese company took off following a deposit and advance payment ceremony on Sept 15.

During a cheque presentation ceremony, representatives of IWH-CREC, the consortium comprising local developer lskandar Waterfront Holdings (IWH) and China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC), handed over a cheque for 1.24 billion ringgit (300 million U.S. dollars) payment to TRX City, a company wholly-owned by Malaysia's finance ministry.

The payment included a 10-percent deposit of the contract value and a 500-million-ringgit (120-million-U.S. dollar) advance payment as IWH-CREC fulfilled its initial contractual obligations to the government to allow the consortium to start work.

IWH-CREC signed an agreement with TRX City in December last year for a 60-percent stake in Bandar Malaysia, a future business district and a major transport hub of Kuala Lumpur.

Among officials present for the ceremony was Malaysian Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Malaysian Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong and Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian.

In his speech, Ambassador Bai said the project would boost Malaysia's economy at a time of economic challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic while also showcase the strong relations between China and Malaysia.

"I believe, with the full support from our two governments, Bandar Malaysia will be something new: it would be a new landmark standing in the center of Kuala Lumpur; a new hub for the investments from companies from China and around the world; a new platform for China-Malaysia economic and financial cooperation, and it would be making new contributions to Malaysian economy for a new take-off," he said.

For his part, IWH Executive Vice Chairman Lim Kang Hoo said the fulfillment of the group's commitment showed investors are still confident about Malaysia's economy and the development would draw high impact global finance, technology and entrepreneurial firms.

Sharing Lim's view, CREC Malaysia Chairman Chen Zhigong said the development would serve as a testimony to the strong relationship between both countries and would serve as a hub to attract global multinational corporations.

The IWH-CREC will be the project's master developer of the 486-acre site, which is the largest piece of development land in the heart of Kuala Lumpur and is expected to bring a substantial economic boost to Malaysia with a gross development value (GDV) of 140 billion ringgit (33.8 billion U.S. dollars).

IWH-CREC said the consortium will shortly invite local and foreign investors, developers, consultants and contractors to submit proposals to participate in the development, with the use of local materials, technologies and talent to feature prominently.