A Pakatan Rakyat assemblyperson today denied claims by the opposition that investments in Selangor dropped after the change of state government in the last general election.

According to Teresa Kok (DAP-Bandar Kinrara), the situation was inevitable as the nation was badly hit by the global economic crisis.

eli wong back to work160409 teresa kok 01 "Our gross domestic product (GDP) dropped 6.2 percent in the first quarter of 2009 and 3.9 percent in the second quarter as compared to 2008. The country's export dropped 22.9 percent in July and 19.8 percent the following month.

"Foreign direct investment (FDI) is expected to fall by 50 percent or RM26 billion this year as compared to RM51 billion in 2008," she told the state assembly in her wrapping up speech for the 2010 budget debate.

Based on this, she added, the Institute of Economic Research (MIER) has forecasted that the country's GDP would shrink to -3.3 percent this year and increase to 3.7 percent in 2010.

Kok said that Selangor has attracted investments worth RM3.431 billion in the first quarter of this year with 174 factories approved by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

"This has created 9,699 job opportunities," she said.

S'wak wins with aluminium smelter

She added that Selangor could have easily surpassed Sarawak as the state with the highest recorded investment this year if the latter had not secured a US$2 billion aluminium smelter plant project.

"Sarawak recorded RM7.755 billion with only 15 factories approved. They overtook us with their aluminium smelter plant even though we secured the highest number of projects," she said.

Kok, who is also the Selangor Investment, Industry and Trade committee chairperson, revealed that the state's GDP shrunk to RM114.3 billion in the second quarter of 2009 as compared to RM118.9 billion last year.

She said that the state's GDP is expected to increase to RM116.8 billion for 2010 with a growth rate of 2.1 percent.

"We are looking at several new growth areas such as the Serendah automotive hub in Hulu Selangor, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah airport's aerospace industry, the 'Klang Valley 2' project (as catalyst for economic development) involving the Kuala Langat and Sepang district and the 'i-City Shah Alam' (the country's first digital community)," she said.

Other industrial areas slated for further development include the Pulau Indah Industrial Park, Selangor Halal Hub in Klang and Port Klang Free Zone.