Malaysia looks to woo Chinese cash with belt and road positivity

Despite initial concerns over projects deemed ‘too expensive’, Mahathir Mohamad’s government now seems on board with Beijing’s trade plans

At a forum on economic cooperation on Thursday, the country’s finance minister teased a new system designed to attract Chinese investors

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Looking forward to a bright future? Malaysia's Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:00pm, 8 Aug 2019Updated: 2:00pm, 18 Dec 2019

Malaysia intends to set up a special, government-helmed channel to facilitate more investment from China, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said on Thursday.

“We wish to see an increase in Chinese investment with the setting up of a system,” he said after delivering a keynote address at a Malaysia-China Belt and Road Economic Cooperation Forum hosted by the Malaysia China Business Council.

More details will be announced during his next trip to China – Malaysia’s single biggest trading partner – Lim said, adding that he hoped it would cause Chinese investment to increase.

During his keynote address, Lim said that Malaysia’s “strategic location” and competitiveness helped embed it deeply within the global supply chain, making it a key part of China’s belt and road plans to enhance global trade connectivity.

“Any country with such plans cannot ignore Malaysia, which sits in the heart of Asean and right in the middle of east-west trade,” he said.

China Communications Constructions Limited workers stand in front of a tunnel of the East Coast Rail Link project in Terengganu. Photo: AFP

Malaysia has been one of the most positive yet canny recipients of belt and road infrastructure projects, embracing Chinese investment while managing to renegotiate deals considered “too expensive” such as the East Coast Rail Link, which aims to enhance connectivity along the less-developed parts of the Malaysian peninsular.