AN international business chamber leader poured cold water on Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz’s boast that Malaysia remains an attractive business hub for foreign investors.
Yesterday, Tengku Zafrul posted a comment on LinkedIn, saying that Malaysia had received more than RM100 bil in approved investments, involving close to 3,000 projects.
“In terms of foreign direct investments (FDI) and domestic direct investments (DDI), Malaysia recorded a total of RM109.8 bil in approved investments involving close to 3,000 projects in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors for the first nine months of 2020.
“Through Penjana Kapital, we recently facilitated the commitment by eight international venture capital fund managers together with the Government to invest up to RM1.57 bil into Malaysia startups in the fields of fintech, edutech, agritech, mobility and artificial intelligence (AI), which are set to create 1,800 high-skilled jobs in the process.
“How’s that for investors’ continued confidence in Malaysia?” he asked.
However, EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EUROCHAM Malaysia) CEO Sven Schneider was unimpressed by Tengku Zafrul’s statement and shot back at the latter.
In a rebuttal via LinkedIn, Schneider said many investors are having concerns in regards to Malaysia’s attractiveness as a viable investment hub of late.
“I’m very sorry to make this comment but representing a sizeable community of foreign investors, the EU, we currently receive a lot of concerns regarding Malaysia as a viable investment destination,” he said.
Schneider added that Tengku Zafrul had yet to make himself available to his business chamber to discuss matters concerning the latter’s commercial interests.
“Without these inputs, your ministry certainly cannot address the problems on the ground. Besides, it really needs more than a few nice words and window-dressing,” Schneider remarked. – Jan 10, 2021.
