KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The lower revenue recorded by Port Klang last year (2016) is due to some international shipping companies shifting operations to Singapore, says Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi.

He said the port authority's annual report recorded that it earned RM302.8 million (S$99.1 million) in 2015 but revenue fell to RM271.2 million last year.

He said the transfer of operations was due to the merging of some of these international shipping companies and the calibration of routes.

"Among the mergers is the taking over of United Shipping Company by Hapag-Llyod, which resulted in one million twenty-foot equivalent (TEUs) containers that operated in Port Klang moving to Singapore.

He was replying to to Sim Tong Him, lawmaker for Kota Melaka, Malacca, who had asked about the revenue recorded by Port Klang.

In another development, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said Malaysia received a total RM267.7 billion in investments from 10 countries last year.

In a written reply to another question from Sim, the ministry denied claims that foreign investors are pulling out of the country.

"There is no denying that there are companies which have ceased operations or moved to other countries due to their labour-intensive operations.

"However, claims that many investors have ceased operations or moved elsewhere is false. In fact, between January and October this year, only eight companies with majority foreign investments have ceased operations," said the ministry.