Businesses in Asean should take advantage of the uncertainties surrounding the geopolitical and trade tensions between China and the United States by attracting foreign investments into the region.

Newly-appointed Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, Ong Kian Ming, said this could be done by showcasing the region's political stability and strong regulations.

For Malaysia, Ong said the ministry would undertake regional road shows to promote trade and investments into Malaysia, as well as to show the international business community that Malaysia is open to business.

"We want to attract good foreign direct investment into Malaysia from Asean and regional countries," he told reporters here today, after delivering his welcoming remarks at 'An Evening with Asean-BAC Malaysia'.

The event was organised by Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean-BAC) to introduce initiatives to assist the local business community expand into Asean.

Meanwhile, Ong also expressed MITI's commitment to find new sources of economic growth in Malaysia to create high value-added jobs and subsequently high income.

"In the past, Malaysia had been attracting manufacturing jobs which were low value-added. Now, there is a consensus in the country that we want to move towards high value-added jobs with high income, which can reduce our reliance on foreign labour.

"With the cooperation of the industry, we are confident that we will be able to show that we are capable of moving forward to a better future," he added.

- Bernama