Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has reassured Japanese investors that, although the new Madani government is just one year old, it is stable, with very clear policies for Malaysia to forge a strong growth path.
Anwar said this at a roundtable meeting with captains of industries in Tokyo, after a one-to-one session with three Japanese corporations.
“We have thought out on how to deal with the energy transition, including renewable energy under the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) and the New Industrial Master Plan which outlined what we want to achieve and our mission,” he said.
He added that the country is also focusing on digital transformation.
“I’m here to listen to your views, on what needs to be done to facilitate or even accelerate the process of engagement and investments,” the prime minister said.
Anwar, who is on a five-day visit to Japan, said he was impressed by the show of support for Malaysia during the roundtable, which saw the participation of 25 companies.
Participants include Masaya Hasegawa, founder of Shinzen Energy; Kunio Yamada, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Rohto Pharmaceutical; Hidehiro Yokoo, senior executive officer of Denso Corporation; Takeshi Saito, president of ENEOS Holdings and Nobuhiko Murakami, chairman of Toyota Tsusho Corporation, among others.
Earlier on, the prime minister met with top executives of three leading Japanese multinational companies, ROHM WAKO Co. Ltd, led by its chairman Datuk Yoshioka Yosuke; NEC Co. Ltd led by senior vice-president Matsuki Toshiya; and Mitsui & Co. president and CEO Kenichi Hori.
Anwar was accompanied by Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
During the meeting, he assured the participants that there are still many opportunities for Japanese investors in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul, in his opening remarks at the roundtable, noted that the event underscored Malaysia’s commitment to laying down a stronger foundation for economic and bilateral relations for the future.
He also pointed to the newly set up Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre that began its operations on Dec 1 as a one-stop centre for investors to do business in Malaysia.
Anwar also thanked the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Alumni Society of Malaysia for helping to arrange today’s meetings and the roundtable session that provided the opportunity for Japanese captains of industries to interact directly with the prime minister.
Japan has been Malaysia’s fourth-largest trading partner since 2015.
In 2022, trade with Japan was valued at RM181.51 billion (US$41.21 billion) or 6.4% of Malaysia’s total trade.
As of June 2023, a total of 2,778 projects by Japanese companies have been implemented in Malaysia, with investments amounting to RM91.89 billion (US$27.43 billion). – Bernama