Loke said the government would obtain a full list of companies interested in the project after its deadline on Monday, and that he believed many investors are still interested to invest in it.

“It is up to them (the firms). This does not mean we’ll halt the project just because one party is not interested, as there are many hundreds of others who have expressed interest.

“I don’t know who they are, as the one handling it is MyHSR (Corporation Bhd),” Loke said, referring to those taking part in the RFI, New Straits Times reported.

He said the companies would be evaluated and requested to submit proposals if they were shortlisted.

He was responding to a report by Kyodo News, which cited government and company sources as saying that Japanese firms, including East Japan Railway Co, had opted out of taking part in the HSR project ahead of the RFI deadline.

The Japanese firms had said they initially planned to utilise the shinkansen bullet train system from Japan for the project, but deemed it too risky without the Malaysian government’s financial aid.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had said yesterday that “we will look into it” as he had just received news of the Japanese firms opting out.

Following the RFI, the government is expected to shortlist the candidates within several months and start full-fledged negotiations with the Singaporean government by later this year at the earliest.

The HSR is expected to shorten the land travel time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes, compared to a four-hour journey by car.

The government has said it is open to reviving the RM100 billion project if it can find private investors.