The newly minted Minister of International Trade & Industry (MITI) said as the global economy is expected to slow down in 2023, his top three priorities is to ensure that trade remains a robust key growth driver to sustain the nation’s economic growth momentum.
Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz added, secondly, we must restore investor confidence and increase FDI, which has long been a key building block of economic resilience, providing us with one of the largest sources of foreign exchange.
“Thirdly, we need to look at the various bilateral and multilateral trade agreements to ensure that their formulation and/or implementation will be of real value and advantage to participants in the Malaysian supply chain, particularly the micro and small SMEs.
Leveraging on my previous experience in the Ministry of Finance, as well as my past corporate experience, I will ensure MITI continues to be the focal point in making Malaysia a preferred investment destination and among the most globally competitive trading nations.
Through the 2023 Budget that will be presented again to Parliament, MITI will propose the creation of a special investment fund to attract more high-value-added investments that will generate higher-paid professional employment opportunities. The target industries include the E&E industry which includes the development of applications based on radio frequency and bluetooth technology for the automotive industry; attracting investors to Malaysia’s E&E sector; and the systematic development of the medical devices industry.
Other technology-based industries that will be focused on include the aerospace industry, the chemical and petrochemical industry, nanotechnology, health-tech, and smart manufacturing. These efforts will be matched with human capital development measures that will contribute to the restructuring of Malaysia’s trade ecosystem in the medium and long term.
“I will start engaging with the stakeholders of Malaysian trade, both domestically and internationally, to ensure that we maintain or improve our competitive, business[1]focused trade ecosystem,” he said in a statement.
