http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/lower-costs-in-iskandar-catch-eye-of-singapore-smes
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 — Iskandar Malaysia is drawing interest from small and medium enterprises (SME) in Singapore that face rising cost of operations south of the border.
The Straits Times reported today that SMEs from the island republic are attracted to the lower costs and availability of land in the 2,200-square-kilometre economic development corridor in south Johor that is three times the size of Singapore.
“In Singapore, most SMEs are facing an issue of rising costs, so they’re definitely looking at alternatives,” the Singapore daily quoted Low Beng Tin, chairman of Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation’s (SMa) Asean business group, as saying.
The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) organised a visit for a 150-strong delegation from the Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation to Iskandar last month.
“My first impression is very good,” said Low, who led the delegation. “I can see that they’re so organised.”
John Kong, managing director of M Metal, who is looking to buy a plot of land of 65,000 square metres (the size of nearly 10 football fields), said “the first thing that strikes you most about Iskandar is the open space”.
“If you need a lot of land to accommodate your business, then perhaps Iskandar is a better choice in terms of land size, rental — and perhaps the flexibility in building up the factory we want,” the newspaper quoted Kong as saying. M Metal makes metal product for construction.
Johor’s proximity to Singapore makes it particularly attractive to SMEs that supply services and goods to big MNCs based here but are squeezed by rising labour and other costs in Singapore.
Moving at least some of their manufacturing and logistics operations across the Causeway would offer them some much needed relief in lowering their costs, while ensuring that the supply chain for their customers remains unbroken.
But their counterparts in south Johor have warned that Iskandar is already contributing to local inflation.
South Johor Small-Medium Enterprise Association president Teh Kee Sin told The Malaysian Insider recently the mammoth development project had resulted in surging land prices. He cited the new administrative centre Nusajaya, where the cost of land has risen to RM130 per square foot from RM30 since Iskandar took off.
Singapore companies are also still concerned about crime in Johor, and whether lower wages would deter skilled workers such as technicians and engineers.
“A concern that hasn’t really been addressed is the manpower issue,” said Low. “If we invest here, is it easy to engage the skilled labour we need?”
He said that as delays to product shipments could result in financial penalties or worse for a supplier, logistics between Singapore and Iskandar “must be made very easy”.
Although Iskandar says on its website that property crimes such as burglaries and car theft fell from 19,823 in 2005 to 18,130 in 2009, violent crimes such as gang robberies and rape more than doubled over the same period, from 3,691 to 7,905.
This comes despite police adding nearly 50 per cent to its force in Iskandar since 2007, a contingent that now numbers over 9,100.
“Within the industrial estates, there’s no concern,” The Straits Times quotes Low as
saying. “Outside the industrial estates, there’s still some concern.”
But many Singapore companies have already taken the plunge and moved across the Tebrau Straits.
According to SP Setia general manager Hoe Mee Ling, 60 per cent of investments at its Setia Business Park are from Singapore.
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发表于 12-2-2012 02:52 PM
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