Int'l investors remain upbeat on Malaysia's economic potential: Mustapa

KUALA LUMPUR: There is still a lot of interest among the international business community in Malaysia, despite all the noises surrounding the country's economy, said Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed (pix).
The business community had acknowledged Malaysia's economic resilience in weathering uncertainties and they had strong confidence that the country would continue to do well," he said in a statement released by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) here today.
Citing an example, he said a number of international companies had expressed interest to play a more active role in unlocking Malaysia's potential in the Internet of Things and Digital Economy area.
The digital economy is one of the priority areas identified for future economic growth, said Mustapa, who led the Malaysian delegation to the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland from Jan 17-20.
In this area, Malaysia had recorded an improvement in new investments, from US$1.05 billion (RM4.67 billion) in 2015 to US$1.5 billion (RM6.67 billion) in 2016.
The targeted areas for future growth as far as the digital economy is concerned will be on financial technology, growth of start-ups and the development of the world's first cross-border trade for small and medium enterprises, namely the Digital Free-Trade Zone as announced under Budget 2017.
Meanwhile, during the WEF, Mustapa also took the opportunity to attend bilateral meetings with a number of government and business leaders from companies such as as Microsoft, Hitachi, Qualcomm, Hanhwa, Nielsen and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
"Some of these companies are looking into the possibility of expanding their footprints in Malaysia," he said.
He said Davos was an important platform for Malaysia to expand its network and strike valuable business deals as it also provided the opportunity for Malaysia to learn more about emerging trends such as the Fourth Industrial Revolution and automation.
"Malaysia as a country needs to align itself to this new reality and keep abreast of the latest developments," he said.
Mustapa further reiterated Malaysia's commitment to pro-growth policies, despite the challenging economic conditions.
"We have invested heavily in infrastructure as evidenced through recent key projects such as the mass rapid transit and Pan Borneo Highway and will continue to invest in major infrastructure such as the high-speed rail which will further improve the business environment," he said.
"This will also improve the connectivity within and beyond Malaysian borders, hence enhancing our competitiveness in the region," he added.
Meanwhile, he said Malaysia, in its quest to continuously improve its approach in attracting investment, was now adopting a more holistic strategy by working closely with consulting firms, banks, private companies and diasporas.
"In Zurich alone, there are around 30 Malaysians occupying senior positions in various companies and they must be the ambassadors in promoting Malaysian brands," said the minister. — AFP