2-11-2023 (KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysia is actively seeking foreign investors to engage in high-value industries, with a particular focus on electric vehicles, semiconductors, and carbon capture, as stated by the country’s trade and investment minister.
Malaysia, long recognized as a manufacturing hub, is now looking to elevate its position within established industries, especially in the fields of energy and electronics.
“We need to attract the right kind of investment because some investments don’t yield the desired spillover effects,” Tengku Zafrul Aziz shared during an interview with Reuters.
Malaysia is exploring new avenues, including carbon capture, usage, and storage, leveraging its abundance of oil wells, and supplying components for electric vehicles (EVs). Tengku Zafrul emphasized that EVs represent a natural progression for Malaysia, given the nation’s well-established electrical and electronics sector, particularly in semiconductor chips.
“We are pushing hard because we provide many of the components for cars,” Tengku Zafrul explained. It’s estimated that each electric vehicle incorporates more than 1,400 chips.
Moreover, Malaysia aims to advance beyond assembly and testing in the semiconductor industry and delve into integrated circuit design and wafer fabrication, solidifying its position in this crucial global industry. Currently, Malaysia accounts for approximately 13 percent of global testing and packaging in the semiconductor sector.
In addition to these high-tech sectors, Malaysia is also considering the aerospace, petrochemicals, digital economy, and pharmaceutical industries as potential areas for foreign investments.
Tengku Zafrul revealed his upcoming plans to meet with potential investors in the United States before engaging in discussions with leaders from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
