“In Johor, MTDC has so far invested and funded 65 companies with a total of RM110.9 million, and two of these companies have been listed on Bursa Malaysia.

“Johor is a hot spot right now with the introduction of many data centres, so we are looking at that potential for investing,” CEO Hazani Hassan told reporters after officiating at the R2G Southern Region here today.

He said MTDC did not set any specific target of growth for investment in the state but is actively looking at early-stage technology companies.

“We want to create an ecosystem that supports the supply chain, focussing on the energy area due to the power demands of data centres or blockchain,” he said.

MTDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Bhd and an agency under the science, technology and innovation ministry.