“We have decided that Jeju is the best place to invest because it has a beautiful natural environment and remains underdeveloped,” said Tan Sri Vincent Tan (pictured), chairman and CEO of Malaysian developer Berjaya Group.

Icon-raising Malaysian real estate maestro invested USD 1.8 billion in Korea’s top island resort. Berjaya, Malaysia’s sixth largest conglomerate, owns the landmark Berjaya Times Square Hotel and a huge shopping mall in downtown Kuala Lumpur.

It also owns a resort complex and around 100 subsidiaries and affiliates including 15 listed companies in various industries such as real estate development, lottery operation, retail and airlines.

The company is now investing in the Yerae Resort-type Residential Complex Project, Seogwipo, a core development project driven by Jeju Free International City Development High Time to Invest in Jeju Island Development Center (JDC), a public corporation affiliated with the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.

He was attracted to the fact that Jeju was an island, for Tan has already built a range of resorts on islands across the breadth of Southeast Asia.

“I realized that the current government of Korea is committed to attracting foreign investment and developing the Korean economy,” Tan said.

“Compared to China’s Hainan Island, Jeju has a cleaner natural environment but does not have sufficient large-scale tourism facilities. Now is the time to invest in Jeju!”

An investment agreement was signed in 2007, followed by a groundbreaking ceremony in the same year. In August 2008, Berjaya Jeju Resort, a joint venture between Berjaya and JDC, was launched. Berjaya confirmed it would invest USD 1.8 billion, by 2015 for the construction of the Yerae Resort-type Residential Complex.

This makes it the largest foreign direct investment ever made in a single project on Jeju. "I would like to make the residence hotel an icon of Jeju Island," said Tan.

"Although we are currently under-going a financial crisis, investment in Jeju will be one of our top-priority projects and will be carried out without fail" the businessman added.


By Shin, kirim
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