KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — Malaysia has attracted RM170 billion of potential foreign direct investment (FDI) from China and could have RM2.44 billion in potential exports to China, Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Aziz said today.

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) said this was generated by its trade and investment mission to China over the past few days, which involved visits to Beijing and Ningbo City.

"This mission is part of Miti’s continuous efforts in attracting quality investments and positioning Malaysian companies, particularly SMEs, higher in the global value chain. We are encouraged by the positive response reflected in RM170 billion of potential FDI and RM2.44 billion of potential exports.

"This reflects strong Chinese interest in Malaysia, driven by Miti’s pro-industry, pro-trade and pro-investment focus.

"We are also capturing important investments in Miti’s target sectors under the New Investment Policy, including E&E and the digital economy, which will create higher-paying jobs for Malaysians,” Tengku Zafrul was quoted saying in a statement by the ministry, referring to electrical and electronics by its acronym.

Tengku Zafrul led the Miti mission to China from March 31 to April 2 where he met with five Chinese potential investors in Beijing.

The mission was supported by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida), the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) and InvestKL.

According to Miti, its mission to China coincided with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s official visit to the country.

Miti said key events during the mission included an intimate roundtable meeting today between Anwar and 36 Chinese captains of industry, covering businesses in the manufacturing sector (including E&E, transport equipment, automotive, petrochemicals and building technology) and in the services sector (including digital technology, telecommunications, finance, e-commerce and aviation).

Another key event mentioned by Miti is the Malaysia-China Business Forum 2023 today where over 1,000 business representatives from both China and Malaysia participated, and had the chance to directly interact with Anwar.

"The strong participation of business leaders from both countries signified firm support and confidence on the future direction of Malaysia-China economic ties under the leadership of the unity government,” Miti said.

Miti said Anwar witnessed the signing of 19 memorandums of understanding (MoU) between companies from Malaysia and China for future projects in Malaysia in sectors such as education, health, automotive, property, waste recycling and logistics.

Earlier, national news agency Bernama said the RM170 billion investment commitments from China from the 19 MoUs was the largest-ever amount from China so far.

According to Bernama, other ministers in Anwar’s delegation to China were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir, Transport Minister Anthony Loke, Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang and Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.