“German companies have a strong presence in Malaysia and we must build upon this close relationship to create further momentum.”

DATUK SERI MUSTAPA MOHAMED, International Trade and Industry Ministry

KUALA LUMPUR: It is important for Malaysia to increase its visibility in Europe, particularly Germany, as the country has become an important source of investment, said the International Trade and Industry Ministry.

“German is a very important source of investment for Malaysia. We must strengthen our visibility in Germany and need to continuously engage foreign stakeholders to promote investment opportunities in Malaysia,” said its minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed in a statement.

“This is to further strengthen our position as a premier investment destination, given the excellent facilitation provided by Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) and other investment promotion agencies (IPAs).

Mustapa is currently leading a trade and investment mission to Europe, with Hamburg in Germany being the first stop.

The mission comprises a strong delegation of senior representatives from economic corridors, IPAs and state governments.

In Hamburg, the mission attracted 120 participants from the International Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, German Asia Pacific Business Association as well as key German corporate leaders.

More than 100 business meetings were held between leading German companies and Malaysian IPAs.

“Germany is our largest investor from the European Union. Over the last 18 months, companies such as B.Braun, Osram, BASF and Infineon have made additional investment of RM3.7 billion to expand their operations in Malaysia.

“We have also managed to secure new investments worth RM250 million from a number of German companies, including Hubner, Rhode & Schwarz and Sew-Eurodrive. The majority of these investments are from Mittelstand firms (German small and medium enterprises),” said Mustapa.

Some of the German companies with existing operations in Malaysia have also expressed their interest to make further investments in the country.

One of them, Hamburg-based Hauni — the world’s leading supplier of machinery, technologies and consultancy services with operations in Shah Alam since 2000 — is keen to expand its presence to keep up with growing demand.

“Malaysia will continue to focus on attracting quality investment from Germany, especially in automation, Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 technologies. German companies have strong presence in almost every state in Malaysia and we must build upon this close relationship to create further momentum as we forge ahead,” said Mustapa.

The country’s trade with Germany has been on the upward trend. Last year, total trade stood at RM46 billion, representing a 7.1 per cent growth compared to 2015.

From January to August, trade with Germany stood at RM34.46 billion, an increase of 15.4 per cent compared to the same period last year.