KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 — The recent official visits to Australia and Germany have opened doors for potential export sales of Malaysian products, in addition to bringing positive results with investment potentials, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told the Dewan Rakyat today.
Anwar said the visit to Australia successfully generated a potential investment of RM24.5 billion, whereby among the Australian companies that have expressed commitments to invest are AirTrunk, NextDC, LaTrobe Magnesium, Arnott’s Group, and Cochlear Ltd.
Additionally, he said the visit to Australia has generated potential export sales of Malaysian products to Australia amounting to RM962.1 million for wood products, fertilisers, food and beverages, and electrical components.
He was replying to a question from Datuk Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail (PN-Kubang Pasu) during the Prime Minister’s Question Time (PMQT) today.
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Meanwhile, Anwar said the recent official visit to Germany has generated potential investments amounting to RM45.4 billion in the energy industry and various manufacturing industries including semiconductors, aerospace, chemical products, medical devices, and the automotive sector.
“Among the German companies that have committed to investing in Malaysia are Siemens Energy, Infineon Technologies, Airbus, B-Braun, BMW, Nexperia, and Delo Chemical,” he said.
In terms of export potentials, he said the additional purchase potentials obtained as a result of the visit to Germany totalled RM1.4 billion from Airbus.
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This gives an encouraging boost to the export sales of Malaysian products and services to Germany, especially in the aerospace sector, for the next five years, he explained.
Ku Abd Rahman also asked about the level of Malaysian trade that still fluctuates in 2024 amid declining global demand, and the government’s actions to diversify overseas markets such as Latin American countries and the Middle East.
Anwar noted that there was a sudden and convincing growth in Malaysia’s trade level in January and February compared to any previous month.
“So, I am not worried even though there are impacts from global politics, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Gaza.
“We have taken actions to ensure that not only traditional countries invest heavily, but there is also a significant increase from China, Germany, and the United States (US). I am confident this will guarantee the continuity of trade activities for our country,” he said.
He said Malaysia currently controls seven per cent of the world’s semiconductor market after the US, Europe and China make Malaysia the hub of this sector, especially the chip market.
Malaysia controls 23 per cent of chip requirements in the US, he added.
According to the Prime Minister, the country’s trade performance has shown an upward trend for the first two months of 2024, recording an 8.3 per cent growth to RM446.43 billion compared to the same period in 2023.
Exports grew 3.9 per cent to RM233.74 billion, contributed by the expansion in manufactured goods exports, which also posted a year-on-year increase of 3.4 per cent to RM196.75 billion.
This has been driven by increased exports of iron and steel goods, machinery and equipment, as well as petroleum products.
“This major achievement is due to the cooperation of various ministries. We acknowledge that Malaysia has gained recognition due to stable politics, Madani’s clear economic policy, and speedy approvals (for investment/business matters).
“Besides, we also see the determination of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar to invest. In the past, the interest was low, but now it is manifold,” he added. — Bernama