KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) expects Chinese investments into Malaysia to soar next year via a ‘special channel’.
Its minister, Datuk Darell Leiking, said this on Dec 10 when commenting on media reports that Chinese investments into Malaysia halved to US$1.7 bil (RM7.08 bil in the first nine months of the year from a year ago.
He said the special channel announced in Budget 2020 could accelerate foreign direct investment (FDI) from China.
“Budget 2020 has specifically identified the special channel to get more investment into this country.
“Even though there has been a slight decline, there is an increase in investments from elsewhere, such as from the US,” he told a press conference in conjunction with E-Commerce Day 2019 here.
Darell said investment from other countries increased, showing positive growth for this year.
The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) recently reported that US investments increased seven times to US$5.9 bil while FDI from Japan was more than four times more at RM11.81 bil in the January-September period.
China slipped to third position behind the US and Japan.
At the event, Darell officiated the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and Internet of Things Institute (MARii) Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) Scale Up Programme which aims to facilitate the adoption of technologies and services into the domestic mobility industry and enhance the e-commerce ecosystem.
He said the effort is in line with the national target of elevating domestic e-commerce businesses in order to capitalise on cross-border trade opportunities.
“It is a new opportunity to do business and this programme is a continuation of many existing initiatives, driven by the government to catalyse entrepreneurship development,” he added.
Ten technopreneurs are utilising the MARii MaaS to enhance e-commerce technology ecosystem development in all aspects of the mobility industry.
MARii MaaS revolves around five focus areas – Sharing Concept, Multimodal Transportation, E-Payment, Connected Living and Telematics. – Bernama
