KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 — The Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) will be hosting two Chinese EV (electric vehicle) companies on April 8 for them to explore investment opportunities in the country.

Minister Chang Lih Kang said the two Chinese EV companies are China Harmony Auto Holding Ltd and GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co Ltd.

"By 2040, we will be able to achieve the targeted number of EVs on the road,” Chang told a press conference at Mosti today.

Commenting further, he said it was possible for Malaysia to achieve 38 per cent of electric vehicles on the road before 2024 and that is in-line with the National Energy Policy 2022-2040.

It was reported that the Malaysian delegation’s visit to China, led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, met with over 36 giant corporations including Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

"Apart from EV and data centres, we also discussed space technology and hydrogen, but as for hydrogen, no particular companies are showing interest as of now.

"Both leaders (President Xi Jinping and Anwar) expressed interest to work together in the science and technology, digital economy and precision farming field, as well as exploring cooperation with China on human vaccines,” Chang said in a report by The Malaysian Reserve.

He also said a piece of land in Tanjong Malim, Perak will be allocated for the used of the Automotive High-Tech Valley (AHTV), Malaysia’s next-generation vehicle hub. However no timeline has been set yet as to when this will be materialised.

Chang said despite not having a timeline, Mosti is still developing the AHTV which will occupy an area of approximately 404.68ha.

"No, we do not have the timeline yet but we are developing it because it needs 404.68ha of land owned by DRB-Hicom Bhd,” he said.

According to a statement from DRB-Hicom on April 1, the AHTV will cover an extensive automotive and mobility solutions value chain, from a fully-fledged high technology global research and development centre to a manufacturing cluster and supporting services and associated ecosystem.

Chang added that among the investments secured by the Prime Minister in his recent visit to China, RM170 billion of investments includes investment related to Mosti.

"The Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation (MRANTI), which is an agency under Mosti, also has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with TusStar Malaysia, a joint venture between Tus-Holdings Co Ltd (from Tsinghua Pioneer Park) and Brunsfield International Group which is part of China’s largest technology incubator work,” he said.