‘Malaysia’s trade with UK has more room to grow’

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s trade with the United Kingdom can potentially grow further, given the ongoing tension between China and the United States, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

He said the UK was the eighth largest foreign investor in Malaysia, with cumulative investments of RM22.3 billion as of last year.

“We have this golden opportunity at a time of fundamental global supply chain reorientation in the Pacific and the Atlantic,” said Lim at the British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (BMCC) Business Excellence Awards 2019, here, on Thursday.

An area that both countries could focus on collectively was the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), he said.

“Malaysia is capitalising on the permanent reorientation of the global supply chain by upping our competitiveness to attract high quality investments, especially those concerning Industry 4.0,” he said.

“Our focus will enable us to take advantage of the next global growth upswing. In other words, we are readying ourselves to be two steps ahead by preparing for the worst-case scenario in the trade war between the United States and China and preparing for what’s to come five to 10 years down the road.”

Lim also called on the UK to tap Malaysia’s readiness in this area.

Malaysia exported RM8.6 billion worth of goods to the UK last year while importing products worth RM7 billion. This brings the total goods trade between the two countries to RM15.6 billion, with a RM1.6 billion surplus in Malaysia’s favour.

In terms of the export of services, however, Malaysia exported RM7.8 billion worth of services to the UK and imported RM10.8 billion.

With that, total service trade between Malaysia and the UK was RM18.6 billion, which was larger than the total goods trade between Malaysia and the UK last year.