Japanese envoy remains upbeat on bilateral business partnerships
KUALA LUMPUR: Business partnerships between Malaysia and Japan have been outstanding and the future continues to remain bright, said Japanese ambassador to Malaysia Makio Miyagawa.
He identified seven areas which Japanese industries and Malaysia entrepreneurs could develop through transfer of technologies and human capital.
They were high-tech industries, infrastructure building, digital industries, halal market, Islamic finance, renewable energy and transfer of defence equipment and technology, he said at the Malaysia Nikkei Business Forum 2017, here, yesterday.
He said Japan remained hopeful that the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail project would use the country’s shinkansen rail system.
While Malaysia has stepped up on its infrastructure development, it could leverage the extensive knowledge, technologies and experience of Japanese industries.
“The electronic cyber space, e-commerce, e-payment and cyber security business will require new-style collaborations and interactions between Japan and Malaysia.”
The Internet of Things had disrupted the conventional ways of doing business and it would help if Malaysian and Japanese industries collaborated to produce new business models, drawing more investments from Japan, he added.
The halal market also promised a bright future as Malaysia was seen as a gateway to the Muslim market in Asia and Middle East. Further, the Malaysia-Japan halal memorandum of cooperation was almost finalised.
On Islamic finance, Miyagawa said in light of the expansion of Islamic bonds in Malaysia, there was cooperation to seek common legal understanding as well as common accounting interfaces that would accelerate the flow of investment funds.
As anti-global warming engagements expand, there will be industrial collaboration that may include joint undertakings, such as projects that expand railways, promote the use of renewable energy and accelerate afforestation as well as convert waste to energy.
Miyagawa also suggested that both governments sign a bilateral agreement enabling the transfer of defence technology.
“This may open new domain for advanced technology industrial cooperation between the two countries,” he said. Rupa Damodaran
The electronic cyber space, e-commerce, epayment and cyber security business will require newstyle collaborations and interactions between Japan and Malaysia.
MAKIO MIYAGAWA Japanese ambassador to Malaysia