The Ministry of International Trade and Industry said it secured a total of RM24 billion in potential investment and RM4.24 billion of potential exports of products and services, through the recently concluded Trade and Investment Mission to the Republic of Korea.
The mission, led by MITI Minister, Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Aziz was part of the Ministry’s efforts in attracting quality
investments and enhancing the participation of local companies in higher-value global supply chains.
Among the discussion held between the two nations include potential cooperation in the digital economy, green economy, renewable energy, supply chain and economic cooperation under the platform of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Among the new investment projects deliberated during the mission were by Samsung Engineering, SKC, Lotte Fine Chemicals, Hyundai, COWAY and a consortium of Korean companies. Lotte Energy Materials, Samsung Engineering
and POSCO Holdings have also expressed their commitment to inject new investments in Malaysia, as well as ensure the transfer of new technology, high-value job creation, talent development, ecosystem creation and collaboration with local universities and industries, particularly among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This is a manifestation of Malaysia’s earnest effort towards attaining sustainable and inclusive economic growth objectives under the New Investment Policy (NIP).
Another key feature of the Mission was the Venture Capital (VC) Investors Roundtable which was chaired by Tengku Zafrul and participated by more than 20 Korean VC investors, who indicated interest to locate their robotics and AI-based businesses in Malaysia. Tengku Zafrul also witnessed the exchange of four MOUs which saw a few Korean VCs’ displayed their commitment to invest up to US$400 million in Malaysia.
In 2022, the ROK stood as the eighth largest trading partner for Malaysia with total trade amounting to RM114.21 billion (USD25.94 billion), an increase of 29.3% compared to RM88.31 billion (USD21.01 billion) in 2021. In terms of investment, the ROK has been one of Malaysia’s top sources of Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) for the manufacturing sector. As of June 2022, a total of 374 projects worth USD9.2 billion (RM32.9 billion) have been implemented, generating 46,260 jobs.
