Miti: M’sia committed to working with the US for mutual benefits

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is committed to continue working with global economies for mutual benefits, including with the United States (US) of which we have had over six decades of strong relationship in terms of trade and investment, said the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) in a statement.

Miti said that Malaysia’s bilateral trade with the US grew by 1.2% in 2018 to Rm155.76bil.

This constitutes 8.3% of Malaysia’s total trade in that same year.

Miti said that exports to the US have increased by 2.4% to Rm90.81bil – the highest recorded since 2008.

“The US – as the third largest trading partner – is no doubt an important global trading partner of Malaysia.

Similarly, Malaysia is an equally important regional and global partner for the US, especially as their gateway into the Asean market,” said Miti.

As at December 2018, a total of 809 manufacturing projects with participation from the US were implemented in Malaysia with total investment of Rm74bil (Us$21.9bil).

These projects have created 204,536 employment opportunities. Meanwhile for the first half of 2019, MITI said it had approved a total of Rm11.7bil (Us$2.8bil) of investment from the US in the manufacturing sector.

“The decision made by notable American companies such as Intel Corporation, Western Digital, Honeywell, Boston Scientific, Motorola and Spirit Aerospace to establish their operations in Malaysia speaks volume about our country’s strength as an attractive investment destination,” said MITI.

Miti said this is strengthened by the fact that Malaysia has received commitment from existing US investors in Malaysia that they will continue to undertake significant reinvestment in further expansion, diversification as well as research and development – which further highlights their confidence in the outlook of Malaysian economy.

Miti said that it has and will continue to actively engage and collaborate with US companies in Malaysia as well as the American Chambers including the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and Us-asean Business Council to gather constructive feedback that will help ensure the Malaysian business climate remains conducive.

While Malaysia continues to receive investment from the US, the Ministry said that Malaysia must not lose sight of the fact that we also have strong presence in the US.

To date, together with the two largest players namely Employees Provident Fund and Genting Malaysia Bhd, Malaysia has over 45 Malaysian companies, which have invested over Us$14bil in diverse sectors such as entertainment and resort, ICT, services, oleo-chemical, industrial packaging, furniture and banking.