TPPA will create between 1 and 2 million jobs within 10 years, says Mustapa Mohamed

KUALA LUMPUR: The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) will create between one million and two million jobs within 10 years after it takes effect in 2018.
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said this is because major international corporations will invest more and establish their businesses here.
"By 2027, it is estimated that as much as one million to two million new jobs will be created by foreign investments, and this will increase employment opportunities in Malaysia," Mustapa told the Dewan Negara today.
He added a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) estimates that foreign investments will increase by between US$136 billion and US$239 billion within 10 years of the TPPA taking effect.
Furthermore, Mustapa said, the TPPA will allow local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and small and medium industries (SMIs) to sell their products to a much wider consumer base.
"As long as there are obstacles to trade, we will only be selling to 30 million people.
"With the participation of Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and the TPPA, we will have access to a much wider market, with the TPPA alone including markets of about 800 million consumers," he said.
Mustapa also used Turkey as an example, saying that an FTA with the country had increased trade between the two countries in January and February this year by 111.3%.
He said trade with Turkey in that period of time is valued at about RM1.21 billion as compared to RM0.57 billion in the same period last year.
Mustapa added that the government is currently working on law amendments to bring them in line with the TPPA by 2018.