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| GREATER HEIGHTS: File photo shows Najib (right) talking to David Cameron during the groundbreaking ceremony of the Battersea Power Station development on July 4. The Prime Minister’s four-day visit to the UK which ended on Thursday has taken Kuala Lumpur-London relationships to greater heights. — Bernama photo |
This was manifested by the launch of the iconic Battersea Power Station (BSP) project in London by a Malaysian consortium comprising SP Setia Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
The 15.6 hectare redevelopment project, with gross development value (GDV) of eight billion pounds sterling, will see some 3,500 new homes built as well as offices, shoplots and a park in West London, and is expected to take at least 10 years to complete and create 15,000 jobs.
Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin, chairman of joint venture company BSP Holding Co, said at a press conference here on Wednesday the project marks the move by local companies from being ‘juara kampung’ to international champions.
“Combining the strengths of the three companies together, we can beat every company in the world to become world champions and not just look at being ‘jaguh kampung’,” he said.
On Thursday, London’s Financial Times, one of the world’s leading financial papers, in its article titled “Malaysia moves into London” quoted Najib as saying that Malaysia’s aggressive investment in the UK, especially in the London property market, will turn the former colony of the British Empire into a major player in the London property market.
The FT said last year, Malaysia spent 1.4 billion pounds, almost all of it in London, more than any other Asian state – snapping up City of London offices and the vast redevelopment project at BSP.
Najib, in a question and answer session with the British media at the official launch of the 9th World Islam Economic Forum (WIEF) to be held in London on October 29 to 31 in London, said Malaysian investment in the UK has been on the upswing with companies, including government-linked firms, looking at investing in real estate and purchasing buildings in London.
The Prime Minister said Mara was looking at a few London properties and EPF, flushed with funds, was looking for opportunities to invest here, adding this is good for the British economy.
The upcoming WIEF is expected to deliver tangible investments – at the previous edition in Malaysia, deals worth an estimated RM28 million were struck.
Meanwhile, the WIEF said the Islamic financial sector is currently estimated at 1.2 trillion pounds sterling and is expected to grow to 1.6 trillion pounds sterling by 2015, with Islamic nations accounting for nearly 25 per cent of the world’s population.
“London will seek to extend its role as a western hub for Islamic Finance, building on the 22.3 billion pounds sterling that has been raised to date, via its status as the leading exporter of financial services across the world,” it added.
Themed ‘Changing World, New Relationship’, the Forum is expected to attract more than 1,500 government leaders, captains of industries, academics, regional experts and corporate managers from 100 countries.
WIEF will also help build closer relations between Malaysia and the UK, while expanding trade and investment between the Islamic world and European countries, particularly the UK.
If Malaysian investment in London is on an upswing, so too are ties between both countries, and Najib has described Malaysia’s relationship with the British government under Prime Minister David Cameron as a partnership of prosperity.
For the BSP project, for example, Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson have given positive cooperation in settling all issues related to the redevelopment process within a short time, including the decision on extending the Northern Line Tube to Battersea with a government financial guarantee.
Najib said the traditional relations between Malaysia and the UK have been given a new breath of life for the benefit of both countries. — Bernama
(Source: The Borneo Post)
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