KUALA LUMPUR – The International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) aims to be more targeted in attracting and retaining investments, and this will start with its participation in the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, said its minister, Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
Tengku Zafrul said since his appointment as Miti minister, he has had numerous engagement sessions with business chambers and investor groups.
Together, they have identified various key issues in not just attracting but also retaining the right investments to create high-skilled jobs for Malaysians, raise wages in general, and rebuild the middle class, post-pandemic.
This will ensure a more sustainable economic growth for the country in the long-term, he said.
“To that end, Miti and the Malaysian delegation have three priorities to highlight during WEF which will be held on January 16 to 20…among them, to meet and explain the government’s direction with specific industries, as well as to foster closer ties with the target international investment community.
“Secondly, we want to highlight the government and economic agenda in key issues in the global economy, especially the Malaysian government’s policies, in the special panel forum in this year’s edition.
“There are closed sessions and special sessions, and we will use these platforms to put forward the government’s agenda. I’ve been invited to speak in several panels on Asean, global economic chain and risks,” he said.
Among the scheduled sessions the minister will participate in is on the cost of economic fragmentation, supply chain and transport, as well as a session titled Living with Risk, which will see Tengku Zafrul as one of the three panellists.
Tengku Zafrul will also be in a two-panel session on Global Trade: Navigating the Post-Pandemic Supply Chain Challenge, together with Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group chairman and chief executive officer of Dubai-based DP World.
The session will focus on whether macroeconomic forces – such as inflation, geopolitical tensions, spikes in commodity prices, supply chain disruptions, and capacity constraints – will continue into 2023 and how companies can create more resilient supply chains.
The third priority of the delegation is to present the latest developments in Malaysia and information on the government’s direction and thoughts on sustainable issues such as environmental, social and (corporate) governance (ESG), which are becoming important.
“We have to focus on the investment community, which stresses on the ESG issue.
“The main narrative that Miti will also bring forward is political stability, after the recent general election, so that we can generate a more inclusive economy to help in attracting investment,” he said.
The government is also committed to providing pro-business policies.
“We are open to business…(we) want to position Malaysia as a strategic country for credible investments and gateway to Southeast Asia,” he stressed.
Asked on the hot issues that will be discussed at WEF, Tengku Zafrul opined that the forum will be dominated by concerns the business community and government leaders have regarding global economic prospects, which have a gloomy forecast this year.
“However, Malaysia needs to show that the global economic growth this year can be supported by the economic growth in Asia, including Malaysia.”
This is especially so with China’s reopening, which will more or less help the economies in Asia and Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, he added. – Bernama, January 14, 2023
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