ALIBABA TO CONTINUE INVESTING IN MALAYSIA

Investment plans not affected by review of Chinarelated projects, says representative

THE review of China-related projects in Malaysia has not stopped e-commerce giant Alibaba Group’s plans to boost investments in the country.

Alibaba Group Malaysia chief representative James Song said as a commercial company, it would invest in Malaysia and focus on Malaysia-China bilateral relations.

“We are positive about bilateral relations between both countries and, at the same time, we are confident of Malaysia’s future. We are confident of our project in Malaysia and there is no setback.

“We are going to continue to invest in the country.

“We will continue to be committed to the local people,” he said at the Alibaba Group Media Familiarisation visit here recently.

He said Alibaba Group co-founder and executive chairman Jack Ma paid a visit to Malaysia recently and met Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and several ministers.

“What we saw and heard proved that there is nothing wrong between the two countries.

“Many companies are concerned about Malaysia-China bilateral ties, but to us, there is nothing wrong.”

It was earlier reported that Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd had notified China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), the contractor for the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project, to suspend work on the 688.3km railway.

The suspension came a day after the Finance Ministry disclosed that the final cost of ECRL was RM81 billion and that CCCC needed to reduce the construction cost to make it financially viable.

The project was approved by the previous government on Oct 21, 2016, while the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning agreement was signed with CCCC on Nov 1, 2016.

We are positive about bilateral relations between both countries and, at the same time, we are confident in Malaysia’s future.

Alibaba Group Malaysia chief representative