Malaysia sees ‘a lot of opportunity’ for more investment from China despite economic slowdown

Malaysia’s No 2 trade official told the Post’s Hong Kong-Asean Summit 2023 Asia will have to factor US-China rivalry in decision-making for next 10 to 15 years

Chinese investors will view Malaysia as a viable production site because of its proximity to the rest of the supply chain supplying Western markets, he said

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Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Investment Trade and Industry Liew Chin Tong at SCMP’s Hong Kong-Asean Summit. Photo: SCMP/May Tse

Published: 5:59pm, 9 Oct 2023Updated: 6:01pm, 9 Oct 2023

Malaysia sees “a lot of opportunity” for continued investments from China despite the economic slowdown in Asia’s biggest economy as sectors unrelated to real estate are continuing to do well on the mainland, the Southeast Asian country’s No 2 trade official has said.

Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Liew Chin Tong said he viewed China increasingly as a “two-speed economy” with its non-real estate sectors seeing healthy growth while the real estate and associated sectors undergo difficult adjustments.

“If you look at anything else that has something to do with consumer goods, something to do particularly with electronic vehicles, or other parts of E&E [electrical and electronics sector] and ecosystem, the numbers are doing very well,” Liew said at the Post’s Hong Kong-Asean Summit 2023 on Monday.

A general view of the Petronas Twin Towers in the distance in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is confident that Chinese investors would view the Southeast Asian economy as a viable production site because of its proximity to the rest of the supply chain supplying Western markets. Photo: EPA-EFE

The E&E sector accounted for 38 per cent of Malaysia’s merchandise exports in 2022, and Liew said Kuala Lumpur was confident that Chinese investors would view the Southeast Asian economy as a viable production site because of its proximity to the rest of the supply chain supplying Western markets.

“Some of these firms which are producing in China are moving to Southeast Asia because of costs … and also because of geopolitical shifts,” Liew said at the one-day event in Hong Kong.

Liew, who is a key political strategist in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling alliance, said public and private sector decision-makers across Asia were likely to have little choice but to factor in the US-China rivalry in every decision they made in the next 10 to 15 years.

The likes of Malaysia will have to find space “in the middle” of the superpowers, and Asean countries as a whole can take advantage of the geopolitical state of affairs if they stand together and take a common, non-aligned position.