Stable Malaysia Has Clear Policies For Growth Japanese Investors Told

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Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida at ar bilateral meeting in Tokyo today. Anwar was accompanied by foreign minister Mohamad Hasan and investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz. (Bernama pic)TOKYO: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has reassured Japanese investors that his year-old government is stable and has very clear policies to spur economic growth.
“We have figured out how to deal with the energy transition, including renewable energy under the National Energy Transition Roadmap and the New Industrial Master Plan,” he said at a meeting with industry captains in Tokyo, after a one-to-one session with three Japanese companies.
He added that Malaysia is also focusing on digital transformation.
Anwar, who is on a five-day visit to Japan, said he was impressed by the show of support for Malaysia during the roundtable discussions involving 25 companies.
Participants include Masaya Hasegawa, founder of Shinzen Energy; Kunio Yamada, chairman and CEO of Rohto Pharmaceutical; Hidehiro Yokoo, senior executive officer of Denso Corporation; Takeshi Saito, president of Eneos Holdings and Nobuhiko Murakami, chairman of Toyota Tsusho Corporation, among others.
Anwar had earlier met with the top executives of three leading Japanese multinational companies: Rohm Wako chairman Yoshioka Yosuke, NEC senior vice-president Matsuki Toshiya, and Mitsui president and CEO Kenichi Hori.
Anwar was accompanied by investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz and foreign minister Mohamad Hasan.
He also assured participants in the meeting that there were still many opportunities for Japanese investors in Malaysia.
Japan has been Malaysia’s fourth-largest trading partner since 2015. Last year, trade with Japan was valued at RM181.51 billion, comprising 6.4% of Malaysia’s total trade.
A total of 2,778 projects by Japanese companies have been implemented in Malaysia so far, with investments amounting to RM91.89 billion.
Anwar and his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, said the two nations will promote cooperation in broadcasting and information and communications technology.
This includes technology for disaster management; the development of 5G network and innovative network technology for the future; cybersecurity; internet of things; smart city; cloud computing; digital economy; and smart manufacturing.
“Both leaders shared their intention to cooperate on economic security including strengthening supply chain resilience, while recognising the importance of transparent, diverse, secure, sustainable, and trustworthy and reliable supply chain in the region and beyond by ensuring productivity and connectivity, and minimising the risks to future supply chain disruptions,” they said in a joint statement.
Anwar and Kishida also recognised Malaysia’s position as a key player in the global halal market and highlighted the importance of science, technology and innovation which would lead to economic growth and job creation.
The two leaders also witnessed the signing and exchange of notes on a security assistance grant from Japan to provide monitoring and surveillance equipment for Malaysia and the exchange of a memorandum of cooperation between the Malaysian space agency and the Japan aerospace exploration agency. - FMT

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