Anwar invites more German businesses to make Malaysia preferred investment destination
12 Mar 2024
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today invited more German businesses to capitalise on Malaysia’s strategic location in Southeast Asia and solid infrastructure to make the country a preferred investment destination.
Speaking at a press conference after a four-eyed meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Federal Chancellery, Anwar said Germany has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner since the 2000s within the European Union, while Malaysia has been Germany’s largest trading partner among Asean member states.
Germany, he said, has invested close to US$15 billion (RM70.24b) in Malaysia, citing German companies such as Infineon Technologies AG which have made Malaysia their hub for centres of excellence and training.
“Chancellor Scholz and I reaffirmed our commitment to expand and deepen cooperation in the economic sphere.
“Both Malaysia and Germany have enjoyed close economic ties for many years, which remained the cornerstone of the robust bilateral relations between both countries.
“We invite more German businesses to take advantage of Malaysia’s strategic location in Southeast Asia, and its developed infrastructure as a preferred investment destination,” he said.
He said the meeting with Scholz also saw other areas of cooperation discussed including education, technical and vocational training, palm oil, energy crisis, renewable energy and climate change.
Touching on the economic outlook in Asia and globally, he said Asia largely remains a key driver of global growth despite facing lingering headwinds.
“Within the Asean region, the near-term outlook is for continued strong growth, owing to resilient domestic demand and some improvement in exports of goods and services,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that there are various challenges that are expected to beleaguer economies around the world in 2024, as countries are still finding a firm footing after the Covid -19 pandemic.
The prime minister reaffirmed Malaysia’s optimism in achieving economic growth between 4-5 per cent in 2024, grounded in the solid foundation that is the Madani economy framework, and the reforms outlined through 2024 Budget.
The Madani economy framework, he said, will leverage Malaysia’s innate strengths in enhancing national competitiveness, with emphasis on fiscal sustainability measures, good governance practices, and efficacious service delivery.
Source: NST
