Although the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) has yet to be signed, investors from non-TPPA countries are already making inquiries about moving their manufacturing base to Malaysia, in the hope of entering the United States market.

Malaysia's chief negotiator on the TPPA, J Jayasiri, conceded today that there is no empirical data to support the claim that free trade agreements can help bring in foreign investment, but offered this as an anecdote instead.

" Even when we were negotiating the TPP, a few investors from non-TPP countries were already making inquiries to locate their manufacturing bases in Malaysia. The reason is they wanted to get into the US market," Jayasiri said.