KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — Senior Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali has called on American investors to leverage on Malaysia’s Digital Investment Office (DIO) as their one-stop centre for all digital investment needs, including in the ecosystem of talent and start-ups.

Mohamed Azmin, who is also Minister of International Trade and Industry, said he is encouraged with the continued interest and participation of the US-Asean Business Council (US-ABC) in Asean, as well as Malaysia in fostering the digital transformation agenda.

The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida), an agency under his ministry, and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) are prepared to help the council to explore the DIO as a unique value proposition in making Malaysia "the Heart of Digital Asean”, he said in his keynote remarks during a virtual meeting with US-ABC yesterday evening.

"I would like to reaffirm that Malaysia continues to be an open economy, with pro-business and pragmatic policies that support the investment climate in the country. Malaysia’s ongoing efforts have successfully kept us on the map of our investors,” he said.

Mohamed Azmin said over the years, US-ABC has assumed a pivotal role in advancing the agenda of regional integration while elevating the relations between the United States and Asean member states, including Malaysia.

He said preventing a pandemic may not be possible, so being prepared is the key.

"I am optimistic that by collectively drawing from the invaluable experiences of the public and private sectors, we will be able to pave the path for a resilient and sustainable growth,” he said.

Malaysia, he noted, remains steadfast in undertaking continuous digital transformation — mainly through the MyDIGITAL agenda, a new dimension of its digitalisation policy.

"It is poised to transform Malaysia into a digitally-driven nation, a springboard for business community to access to a regional market of more than 650 million people, and potential online consumers of 400 million strength,” he said.

Mohamed Azmin noted that Malaysia’s foreign direct investment surged by 223.1 per cent year-on-year in the first half of thus year.

"(This) demonstrates that Malaysia’s strategy of positioning the country as an attractive investment destination of choice and a supply chain hub in Asean, particularly for manufacturing operations, is showing positive results,” he said.

The United States has been Malaysia’s third largest trading partner since 2015.

He said that despite global trade registering deficit last year, Malaysia recorded a promising growth of 8.2 per cent in total trade with the US, reaching US$42.6 billion (RM177 billion).

Furthermore, the country is Malaysia’s second-largest foreign investor in terms of implemented manufacturing projects, he added. — Bernama