KUALA LUMPUR: Iskandar Malaysia's regulator is confident that the recent probe into Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB) will not affect investors' confidence in the multi-billion ringgit project- Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda) chief executive officer Ismail Ibrahim said the alleged mismanagement of IIB is an "isolated case which will not jeopardise" the interest of prospective investors- "It is really not for us to comment because we are the regulator bonded by federal government regulation while IIB is the property developer of the development," he said to reporters here yesterday- "But I am confident that the investigation will not affect the rolling out of the development (of Iskandar)," Ismail said- Iskandar Malaysia, which is the country's first economic growth corridor, has attracted sizeable number of investors from Malaysia and abroad- "In my recent trip to Houston, Texas, for an oil and gas conference, I was approached by quite a number of players who wanted to come and participate in Iskandar Malaysia," he said- Irda is aiming to attract RM73 billion new investments for its second phase development from this year to December 2015- A bulk of the investment or RM28 billion is expected to be spent in manufacturing, RM24 billion in property, RM2-9 billion in utilities, RM1-5 billion in tourism and the remaining from government and other smaller-scale projects- For the first phase (2006-2010), it achieved committed investments of RM69-38 billion, surpassing its forecast of RM47 billion- "Of the RM69-38 billion, about 38 per cent to 39 per cent has been realised," said Ismail- To-date, about 58 per cent of the investments are from local investors and 42 per cent from foreign parties- Earlier, Ismail briefed reporters on Irda's three-day conference themed "The Wealth of Iskandar Malaysia", which will include a half-day site tour around Iskandar Malaysia from May 24-26- Ismail said 2011/2012 has been anticipated as the tipping point for Iskandar Malaysia- "We will see the completion of key development of infrastructure and major iconic projects such as the coastal highway, Johor premium outlets, Legoland and Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia-" "We want to showcase Iskandar Malaysia to the world," he said adding that the conference will see a memorandum of understanding to be signed between asset building consulting firm, Global Asia Investment (Macau) Ltd and United Malayan Land Bhd-...

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