The Counsellor (Economic) of Singapore High Commission, Ms. Melissa Lee led Assistant Director of the Southeast Asia and Oceania Division from the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ms. Audrey Lee, OCBC Bank Advisor, Mr. Cheng Swee Peng, OCBC Bank Perak Region Executive Director, Mr. Chris Lu and CBRE WTW Valuation Perak Branch Manager Ms. Wong Ru Wen to pay a courtesy visit to the PCCCI at 10 am. They were received by the central committee members headed by Dato’ Liew Chee Ming. Other committee members included Mr. Lee Yeong Wai, Ir. Ong Kean Sing, Clr. Tang Cheng Wei, Ir. Loh Ban Ho and Mr. Loh Kok Hua.
Both sides exchanged and shared information on the investment overview of Perak, including industrial park development, water and power infrastructure and talent supply.
In his welcome speech, Dato’ Liew Chee Ming said that Malaysia and Singapore have a long history of relations and the connection between them can be said to be interdependent. Both countries have close exchanges and cooperation in various fields such as history, culture and economy.
He hopes that the Singapore government can encourage more Singaporean businesses to invest in Perak, especially in high-tech, manufacturing, tourism and cultural industries.
When Counsellor Lee mentioned the challenges faced by local companies in finding talent, Dato’ Liew Chee Ming said that since the value of the Singapore dollar is much higher than the Malaysian ringgit, such as one Singapore dollar can be exchanged for RM3.20, it attracts many Malaysian talents to work in Singapore. However, Clr. Tang Cheng Wei believes that this is a question of which comes first, the chicken or the hen. The state government, including Ipoh City Council, is working hard to improve the investment environment and formulate more flexible policies to attract more foreign investment to set up factories in Perak and retain more people to work in Perak.
Ir. Loh Ban Ho hopes that the Singapore High Commission can write to the Perak state government to request that the threshold for foreigners to purchase properties be lowered from more than RM1 million to more than RM600,000, so as to encourage more Singaporeans to purchase high-end apartment properties in Perak. He said that if Singapore wrote to propose this suggestion, he is confident that he can persuade the state government to lower the threshold for foreigners to purchase properties.
Dato’ Liew Chee Ming said that Perak has abundant natural resources, especially minerals such as limestone and rare earths, and Singaporean businesses can explore investment in this area.
Ir. Ong Kean Sing said that Perak has sufficient water resources and the state government plans to provide drinking water supply to the Kerian Integrated Green Industrial Park (KIGIP) and Penang state.