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Malaysia wants Google and Microsoft to follow Tesla and Amazon and invest: ‘sometimes we’ve to be opportunistic’

Malaysia desires to lure Microsoft and Alphabet Inc Google in line with Trade Minister Zafrul Abdul Aziz, it seeks to be an information hub and positions itself as a neutral supply chain base amid rising tensions between the US and China.

“We are attracting as many as we can” and can “slowly establish ourselves” as an information center hub, Zafrul said in an interview Friday.

This yr’s investment success in Malaysia includes attracting corporations corresponding to Tesla company AND Amazon Internet services. Tesla plans to import its electric vehicles to the Southeast Asian country and construct a network of supercharging stations, and AWS will invest 25.5 billion ringgit ($6 billion) in cloud computing infrastructure by 2037.
Growing tensions between Washington and Beijing are increasingly pushing global corporations to search for locations abroad China. Malaysia competes with other Southeast Asian countries corresponding to Vietnam AND Thailand for investments geared toward constructing recent supply chains.
Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry of Malaysia. He said his country was “neutral” and “a part of a critical supply chain.” Photo: Bloomberg

“You know, we’re seeing a lot of changes in the supply chain, looking at resilience and security in this region,” Zafrul said.

According to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority, Malaysia attracted approved investments value 71.4 billion ringgit in the primary quarter of this yr, up 67 percent from the previous yr. Foreign direct investment accounted for over 52%. inflow. Earlier this month, the country secured 23 billion ringgit of potential investments during a trade mission led by Zafrul Japan.
Tesla selected Malaysia due to its proven ecosystem built over the past 50 years, Zafrul said. Malaysia has also sought to capitalize on its attractiveness as a rustic semiconductor center within the face of uncertain regional geopolitics, with the minister noting that “sometimes we’ve to act opportunistically.”

“We remain neutral and are part of the critical supply chain,” he said. “Malaysia was a net beneficiary.”

Intel is expanding in Asia, opening a $7 billion Malaysian chip plant

Malaysia meets about 13 percent of world demand for chip testing and packagingand what Zafrul estimated as 1 / 4 of U.S. chip testing and assembly needs. According to Zafrul, corporations on this sector are already providing services value over 200 million ringgit to Tesla.

Malaysia’s economy is extremely trade-dependent and vulnerable to shocks from trade disruptions, especially involving China, its largest partner since 2009. Trade tensions stem from U.S. efforts to limit China’s access to key semiconductor and control technologies export.

The poor trade picture is contributing to what Zafrul called a “very difficult yr” for growth, on top of tightening monetary policy and the continuing impact of the Russian crisis war in Ukraine.

Malaysia’s exports fell by probably the most in almost three years in April, and the weakness could proceed as China’s economic recovery fizzles out.

Chinese collection vessel highlights Malaysia’s vulnerabilities in South China Sea

Malaysia’s gross domestic product grew faster than expected by 5.6 percent a yr ago in the primary quarter, and the federal government forecast a growth rate of 4.5 percent in 2023, modestly in comparison with last yr.

The benchmark stock index is among the many worst-performing stock indices in Asia this yr, as falling commodity prices and concerns a couple of slowing global economy prompted global funds to withdraw from local stocks. The ringgit has fallen 4.6 percent for the reason that starting of the yr as rising rates of interest supported the US dollar.

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