Malaysia's secured 2nd batch of investment commitments from China this year

Malaysia secured its second batch of investment commitments from China this year as the coalition government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim proactively seeks investment opportunities to benefit the nation.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, was on a one-day working visit to Nanning, China on Sunday at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang to attend the 20th China-Asean Expo (CAEXPO).

During his trip, Anwar, accompanied by several Malaysian ministers, witnessed the exchange of three memoranda of understanding (MOUs) worth a total of RM19.84 billion between Malaysian and Chinese companies.

Of the three MOUs, the first one with an estimated value of RM15 billion was exchanged between Citaglobal Bhd and Shanghai Sus Environment, where both companies would collaborate to develop waste-to-energy power plants, primarily in Malaysia.

The second MOU, worth about RM2.34 billion, was between PM Access World and Beibu Gulf Port Group while the third MOU, with a potential export value of RM2.5 billion, was signed between Sime Darby Oils International Ltd and GuangXi Beibu Gulf International Port Group.

“The present administration is proactively seeking investment opportunities that would facilitate the country’s transition towards renewable energy (RE).

“I suppose it will open more opportunities for Malaysian businesses, perhaps through technology transfers that would help diversify our RE portfolio,” Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid told Bernama.

Apart from that, he said the potential venture with China’s companies in the logistics and palm oil industries would also help to strengthen Malaysia’s existing industries.

Emphasis on palm oil

During a media conference, Anwar said the MOU between Sime Darby Oils International and GuangXi Beibu would help to protect the interest of oil palm smallholders and producers alike.

Sharing a similar view, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) hailed the MOU as good news for the palm oil industry.

“This could further enhance our market here, especially downstream. With this agreement, we hope to see our export of downstream palm oil-based products increase further,” its director-general Datuk Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir said.

Ahmad Parveez was invited by the Chinese government to talk about palm oil trade and sustainability during the CAEXPO, following a prior invitation by Tsinghua University to lead research and development pilot tests on heavy vehicles on carbon emissions using palm biodiesel, which yielded positive results.

The CAEXPO 2023 and China-Asean Business and Investment Summit (CABIS) run from Sept 16-19.

This trip marked Anwar’s second visit to China as the prime minister, with the first being when he visited Beijing and Hainan after taking office last November.

During the first visit, Malaysia secured a record RM170 billion worth of investment commitments from the world’s second largest economy.

For the first six months of 2023, Malaysia attracted RM132.6 billion worth of approved investments in the services, manufacturing, and primary sectors involving 2,651 projects which are expected to create 51,853 job opportunities in the country.

- Bernama

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