ON Wednesday (May 11), Bernama reported that Malaysia is expected to garner RM14.62 bil in new investments from the US following the Trade and Investment Mission (TIM) led by Senior Minister and International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
This may sound a gargantuan figure to many layman Malaysians – more so among those residing in rural locales so much so that that Gombak MP can automatically score a lot of brownie points from his electorate.
The catchword here is “expected” which simply implies that “the RM14.62 bil in new investment” is merely an estimated target which can be achieved or otherwise, missed by a far-off distance.
In other words, the RM14.62 bil target is nothing more than a projection following a compilation of potential value of investments that can be generated from a “X” number of potential investors following a series of eye-to-eye meeting.
In fact, it is the exact opposite of “expected new investments” that the Malaysian public should demand to hear – yes, “committed investment” which is an equivalent of putting the money where one’s mouth is.
In other words, “committed investment” equals “committed capital” or a legally binding agreement that a foreign investor would commit in the quest to expand its business operations to a new region by establishing a lasting interest (as in the case of foreign direct investment [FDI]).
In a way, having a senior minister like Azmin to lead a trade delegation would surely increase the chances of clinching a “committed investment” – at least on paper – by virtue of his governmental position.
But there is a no guarantee whatsoever that Azmin’s position of power alone can do the trick given the potential investor/s would surely know that “politicians come and go”.
Or worse still, they would have discreetly done their homework to empirically assess business prospects, cost of doing business, Malaysia’s taxation system, corruption level or simply compare what the country has to offer with what its neighbours are able to dish out.
In today’s hyper competitive world where neighbouring countries compete for the shrinking FDI pie, Malaysia can no longer rest on its past laurels as an Asian Tiger for the tiger cub economies of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are rapidly playing catch-up to promote themselves as choice investment destinations.
Anyway, in order not to undermine Azmin and his MITI team who is currently on a 10-day Trade and Investment Mission (TIM) across the US since May 8, note that he has told Bernama and TV3 that he is due to make some major announcements over the next few days in terms of new investments that have been committed to by American companies.
Thus far, Azmin has met several high-technology (hi-tech) companies such as global semiconductor company Texas Instruments Inc and Indium Corp which is a global material supplier to the electronics assembly and semiconductor packaging industries.
Moving on from here, he is scheduled to engage with more hi-tech industry players on his next visits to San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles.
Whatever the case is, so long as Azmin and team stick to the “better under-promise but over-deliver than to over-promise but under-deliver” adage, they shall never go wrong. – May 13, 2022
Pics credit: Bernama
