Should Malaysians Invest In Iskandar?

Undoubtedly, the Iskandar Special Northern Development Corridor has become a a favorite with international investors.

From the time of its establishment in 2006, the Malaysian government has made every effort to draw in well-off international investors, in particular those from Singapore to invest in Iskandar by offering appealing tax as well as other bonuses.

Currently, not only are Singaporeans keen to invest, but investors from China, Taiwan, Japan, Europe and the United States have been coming in droves to check out the choice investment possibilities in Iskandar.

There are many of reasons why Iskandar is such an appealing investment for foreigners.

1) Low-cost Land

If there is one thing readily available around the Iskandar Region by the boat loads, it is definitely land - undeveloped land that the government has earmarked as freehold. With land becoming very hard to find and even more costly in Singapore, it seems sensible for Singaporean businesses to expand to Iskandar which is just across the Straits of Tebrau instead of to other locations like China. More Singaporeans are also purchasing getaway or weekend houses in Iskandar too. Again, it seems sensible simply because they are able to get a landed property in Iskandar when it's even challenging to find a low-cost HDB flat in Singapore.

2) Low-cost Labor

There is certainly talent aplenty in Iskandar. Businesses have the luxury of choosing among the local talent at a very reasonable price tag. The local talent comes with the competence and understanding which is comparable to Singaporeans as well. A number of them are even trained in  Singapore. In case there are any sort of tasks of which snobbish Singaporeans deem below them to undertake, for instance manual labor and odd jobs, well there are many there are plenty of people who are willing to undertake it in Iskandar too.

3) Competitive Advantages In Exchange Rates

With the exchange rate in the majority of countries is at least double the Malaysian Ringgit, it is just a no brainer that foreigners are able to invest at half the price of what they usually would pay in their own countries and get double the earnings. They are able to save on their operational charges as well, therefore it is really logical for them to transfer their operations to Iskandar. For residential properties, foreigners could get world class landed properties as well as luxurious condos that come complete with the lifestyle suitable for the wealthy at a very reasonable price tag.

4) Future Infrastructure Undertakings

Construction is already under way to construct a high speed rail link that connects Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and it will pass through Iskandar. This makes it really convenient for anyone from either side of the causeway to travel. And since the link goes all the way to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital city, this makes it extremely practical for people doing business to go for meetings.

Presently new projects being planned in Iskandar are getting excellent response from foreign investors. But you may be asking yourself what of the local investors? This is certainly a big question mark on the minds of local investors since they don't see any competitive rewards for them to think about Iskandar as a feasible investment, notwithstanding the potentials that are available there. In addition to know what to invest in property in Iskandar, you also have to know where to invest.

If you would like to know more about how you too can be a part of the Iskandar opportunity, acclaimed Property Guru Milan Doshi and a panel of illustrious speakers will have a talk on the topic of property investment in Iskandar for local Malaysians. Organized by Wealth Mastery Academy, the talk aims to make Malaysians aware of the great potential that is in their own backyard. Click here for further details.