With ongoing investment from Japanese businesses, the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry anticipates that foreign direct investment (FDI) from Japan will surpass RM143.4 billion (US$30 billion) this year.
The private sector in both nations has voiced optimism about economic prospects this year, according to its minister, Tengku Zafrul Aziz, despite the slowdown in the global trade environment.
“When we look at the local and global economy, we hope the Malaysia-Japan trade will continue growing.
“However, we still have to see the progress because there are too many uncertainties now in global trade,” he said.
“Anyway, global trade is a separate issue. I think for investment, we are optimistic,” he told reporters after officiating the Malaysia-Japan Economic Dialogue, according to FMT.
Tengku Zafrul had earlier stated in his speech that Malaysia valued its strong and tight economic ties with Japan, which has been one of its major trading partners over the past few decades.
He claimed that since 2015, Japan has been Malaysia’s fourth-largest trading partner for eight years running.
“In 2022, trade with Japan made up 6.4% of Malaysia’s total trade at RM181.73 billion (US$41.26 billion) amid the backdrop of a challenging global environment,” he added.
He stated that as of June 2023, Japanese businesses have completed 2,778 projects in Malaysia, investing RM91.89 billion (US$27.25 billion) and generating 337,758 job opportunities.
“It is encouraging to note the continuous appetite from Japanese investors towards Malaysia as we continue to welcome more and more FDIs from Japan,” he said.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a cooperative crediting mechanism was signed during the event by the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) and the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI).
According to FMM President Soh Thian Lai, the Memorandum of Understanding aims to help both countries’ major and small businesses become more competitive internationally by giving them access to markets in their respective regions.
“Last year, we achieved about RM191.2 billion (US$40 billion) of trade with Japan, but this year, we hope it will increase further by more than 10 to 20%.
“With this MoU, we can have more direct business-to-business communications and more exports from Malaysia, whilst at the same time Japan also can export to Malaysia,” Soh added.
With ongoing investment from Japanese businesses, the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry anticipates that foreign direct investment (FDI) from Japan will surpass RM143.4 billion (US$30 billion) this year.