KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s (Tambun-PH) administration has managed to draw in a whopping RM215 billion in potential and confirmed investments from his many overseas trips.
Addressing the Dewan Rakyat today, Anwar said he has been on 17 foreign work trips since becoming prime minister in November last year, including visits to Asean countries, China, the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Noting that his trip to China from March 29 to 31 saw Malaysia achieve RM170.07 billion in potential investments, Anwar added that he will be meeting with Chinese automobile manufacturer Geely tomorrow on improving the Tanjung Malim Automotive High-Tech Valley site.
“This (meeting with Geely) disproves allegations that the announcements made (on the project) are not necessarily being carried out.
“At the same time, Elon Musk has given his assurance that the (electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla’s) headquarters in Cyberjaya is expected to be completed by the end of this month,” Anwar said during the Prime Minister’s Question Time.
He was responding to a query posed by Tan Kar Hing (Gopeng-PH) on the outcomes of the overseas visits including investments, cooperation with other countries, and the level of confidence of foreign investors in Malaysia.
Besides that, Anwar’s working visit to New York last month generated RM4.74 billion in potential investments, including investments from Boeing, Google and Medtronic.
Anwar’s three-day trip to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, also saw the prime minister courting international corporate leaders, thought influencers, civil society personalities, and world leaders from the UAE, Turkiye, Iran, Iraq, and many others.
“My recent visit to the UAE was also beneficial as we managed to secure commitment from UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and they agreed to invest (in Malaysia).
“Through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) and the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar), UAE agreed to invest RM40.6 billion.”
The biggest investment from the UAE, Anwar said, came from Masdar for the development of renewable energy projects in Malaysia with a capacity of up to 10 gigawatts (gW) worth RM37.8 billion.
The logistics sector saw investments of RM2.1 billion while the aerospace sector received investments of RM709.1 million.
The UAE is currently the largest investor in Malaysia from the West Asian region and the second largest among the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states.
To date, implemented investments from the UAE in Malaysia amount to US$388.8 million (RM1.48 billion) in various manufacturing projects. – October 10, 2023