Malaysia wants increased Thai investment, JV
The Malaysian government wants more investment from Thailand to develop such key areas as agriculture, healthcare services, infrastructure, and halal food business. It is also aiming to establish new joint ventures with major Thai companies for expansion
Nazirah Hussain, Malaysia’s ambassador to Thailand, said recently that though about 400 Malaysian companies had a strong presence in Thailand, her government would like to welcome more big Thai companies, such as Charoen Pokphand Foods, Siam Cement Group, Loxley and large hospital chains, to invest and expand in Malaysia. This would help create balanced trade and investment between the two countries.
There is a big difference in the amount of investment each country makes in the other. From January to October last year, approved investments with Thai participation in Malaysia were valued at US$79 million (Bt2.4 billion), while approved investments with Malaysian participation in Thailand were worth $123 million. Major areas of investment involved agriculture-based industries, transport equipment, automotive components, textiles, electronic and plastic products, finance and communication.
Thus the Malaysian Embassy will hold “Trade and Investment Mission to Thailand” from February 22-23 at Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra makes her first official visit to Malaysia on February 20.
At the Bangkok event, Mustapa Mohamed, Malaysia’s international trade and industry minister, will bring leading Malaysian businesspeople from 60 companies along with senior officials of the federal and state governments to network with business leaders from an estimated 500 major companies in Thailand. This is aimed at enhancing trade and investment between the two countries.
Nazirah said the Malaysian government wanted to see more investment from Thailand after the event. The key areas expected to bridge the gap include agriculture business, halal products and services, small and medium-sized business development, and healthcare service.
Nazirah added that in view of the Asean Economic Community coming into effect by 2015, her government would like to see more cooperation and joint ventures with Thai companies to expand into third countries. A Thai-Malay JV in halal food and services, for instance, would bring new opportunities to export products and services to the Middle East, while JVs in service sectors such as finance, banking and tourism would focus on Asean countries, particularly Burma, which has now opened up to overseas investors.
This is part of the “Vision 2020” road map to propel Malaysia towards developed-nation status by 2020, the ambassador said.
