THIS typical question used to be the trademark at briefings or during missions organized for investors to learn about the many opportunities Selangor had to offer.

Not anymore. This line of questions has been a  thing of the past for a long time, to say the least.

Today investors from all over the world know about the many success stories and tremendous opportunities waiting at their doorsteps in every corner of the state.

Statistics do not lie. In the last few years, millions of ringgit has been injected by local and foreign investors into major highly profitable projects, established in existing and new potential areas in this state of golden opportunities.

Stories about giant companies setting up their factories in Selangor despite almost having decided to invest in other countries are plenty.

The answer is simple. Apart from its strategic location, Selangor offers irresistible opportunities, advantages and attractive incentives, fast and efficient services.

Dato’ Mhd Jabar Ahmad Kembali, the Chief Executive Officer of the Selangor State Investment Centre (SSIC), the Selangor government’s investment arm, has many interesting stories to share.

One of such stories is that of about a group of decision makers representing a European manufacturing plant insisting to know if Selangor could fulfill its promise to reduce red tape.

They were told them that officially it would take them two weeks to get the necessary approvals to set up a plant in Selangor.

“In this case, all it took was less than a week and when i told the potential investors of this good news, they were shocked, but of course pleased,” he said.

For the record, SSIC is a one-stop investment promotion, agency that provides information and advisory services to potential and existing investors and assist them to set up and retain operations in Selangor.

Investors, both local and foreign, are aware that Selangor’s economy depends largely on trade and industry.

For many years, Selangor has enjoyed tremendous growth in the areas of manufacturing, property an infrastructure development, commerce, higher education services and also in the tourism and recreation sector.

As the first and only state that has obtained a developed status in Malaysia (in 2005), Selangor offers not only the best investment climate, but also a world class physical infrastructure to investors.

Locating your operation in Selangor allows investors to be in proximity to Malaysia’s main international air gateway the Kuala Lumpur International Airport or KLIA and Malaysia’s main sea gateway Port Klang.

The state government is taking advantage of our proximity to these international points of entry. In relation to KLIA, the Selangor state government is currently in the process of setting up a new industrial park - Selangor Science Park 2 will be located in Bukit Baja, Sepang and nearby to KLIA.

It will cater to investments in the high-tech industries. Selangor’s existing industrial park such as Pulau Indah Industrial Park and Zurah Industrial park in Rasa, Hulu Selangor are  still available for investors.

The Selangor state is also in the midst of transforming Port Klang into a regional transhipment and distribution hub; a one thousand acre free zone, for running both commercial and industrial activities at Pulau Indah which is located beside Westport, a component of Port Klang.

The state government will continuously reform the delivery mechanism to provide more efficient and effective services to investors. Among the policy and administrative initiatives that the state government has taken towards this end are; the setting up of a one-stop agency in the form of SSIC Berhad, (Selangor State Investment Centre).

The Selangor state government has recently restructured SSIC by streamlining it into two divisions; one for the promotion of new investments and the other for promoting reinvestments.

The state government, under the leadership of Menteri Besar (or Chief Minister) Dato’  Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo,  also instituted the two week policy that compels every application, inquiry or complaint to be settled within the time frame if not earlier.

Statistics show  that in the past 7 years (since 2001), Selangor attracted nearly RM44.8 billion or US$12.8 billion of investments in this sector. A total of 48.9% of it is from foreign direct investment (f.d.i). Last year alone (2006) Selangor received investments worth RM9.6 billion or US$2.7 billion.

From January to September 2007, Selangor received RM6.1 billion or US$1.7 billion worth of investment in the manufacturing sector. About 51.3% was derived from foreign direct investment.

The investors can take advantage of all the facilities and opportunities and use Selangor as a springboard to the world make it your profit centre. Selangor state government welcome all investments with open arms; some of the areas that should be looked into are high-technology, marine industry, ICT, tourism, education, halal products, manufacturing and agro-based industry.

The Menteri Besar, despite being happy with SSIC’s current record, hopes to see it surpassing last year’s RM9.6 billion investment figure target.

Based on the healthy investment climate, coupled by the incentives and relentless efforts, the target is achievable. - FARUSH KHAN