TRX City Sdn Bhd chief executive officer (CEO) Azmar Talib said the group was now in an advanced stage of talks with various investors, some of them among the world’s most recognisable names in banking and finance.
“Today, we have on board with us world-class investors who believe in our vision,” he said in his welcoming speech to several heads of missions on a visit to the TRX site here today.
Azmar said HSBC, one of the world’s largest banks, has committed a US$250 million (RM1.071 billion) for the building of its new Malaysian headquarters in TRX.
“This is significant for us, as HSBC was also one of the early believers in Canary Wharf (in London) and Dubai International Financial Center, which are our inspirations.
“We also have Lendlease, which will jointly develop the Lifestyle Quarters; Mulia International Group, which is also building the Signature Tower; Veolian, which is the concessionaire for our wastewater recycling plant; and the list is still expanding as we speak,” said Azmar.
Azmar said once TRX is open for business, the TRX rail station will be the busiest in Kuala Lumpur, with two lines and up to 25,000 passengers every hour at its peak.
Meanwhile, InvestKL Malaysia CEO Zainal Amanshah, when met at the same event, said 13 ambassadors and representatives from 21 countries were brought to the TRX site today to witness the progress of the project.
They included those from the UK, France, Belgium, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, China and Japan, he said.
“There is still interest here despite concerns about 1Malaysia Development Bhd. The investors’ confidence is still there as the fundamentals continue to be strong.
“We are also pushing for Malaysian companies to begin to have their hubs here too,” he said.
Zainal said InvestKL was set to attract 10 multinational companies (MNCs) this year and on track to secure 100 MNCs by 2020.
“This year has been very good. We are on track to meet our target.
“To date, InvestKL has attracted 65 MNCs with approved and committed investments of over RM10 billion (since 2011) and to create 10,000 regional jobs.
“It’s all going well, with realised investments reaching more than 30% while jobs on payroll now are over 60%,” he said.