Malaysian Delegation Touts Selangor for Taiwanese Investment

To promote investment in western Malaysia, a delegation of legislators and commercial representatives from the state of Selangor held the Investment Opportunity in Selangor Business Luncheon on June 24 for Taiwanese media and enterprises interested in investing there.

The Malaysian delegation included state assembly members Y.B. Mr. Ean Yong Hian Wah, Y.B. Haji Sallehen Bin Nukhyi, and Y.B. Ms. Puan Rodziah BintiIsmail; Y. Bhg Mr. Hasan Azhari Hj. Idris, CEO of Selangor State Investment Centre Berhad; Mr. Zakaria.Kamis, CEO of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority; Datuk Jiang Wen Zhou, president of the Taipei Investors' Association in Malaysia; and Datuk Dr. Ding Cheng Weight, among others.

At the banquet, Ean Yong Hian Wah said that Malaysia plays an important role in providing foreign investors with easier access to the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) market, and that Selangor is an ideal destination for Taiwanese investment since it has the country's largest economy and boasts a convenient transportation system made up of Port Klang, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and roads leading in all directions, as well as a network of well-developed industrial parks.

The legislator went on to say that Selangor has been gradually phasing out labor-intensive industries and actively nurturing the development of the high-tech and biotech sectors as part of its industrial transformation policy. He took advantage of his visit to meet Taiwanese companies from the agricultural and biotech sector in an effort to forge closer cooperation between the two countries in improving the productivity, product quality, technology, and quality of life of local farmers.

Hasan Azhari noted that Malaysia enjoys better political and economic stability than most Southeast Asian nations, helping to make Selangor a priority destination for foreign investors interested in exploring the ASEAN bloc. Since Taiwan is currently Malaysia's ninth-largest source of direct foreign investment, Malaysia wants to encourage Taiwanese enterprises engaged in high-tech businesses, green energy, biotechnology, and Halal food and products to invest and set up operations offices or R&D centers in the state.

The CEO went on to say that during his Taiwan visit, he toured industrial parks and the Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park to observe how industrial clustering drives output value in Taiwan, and commented that he will try to duplicate the experience in Selangor so as to improve the investment environment there. In the near future, he reported, his state will set up a new biotech industrial park and offer various incentives to attract Taiwanese investors.

With more than 25 years of experience in running factories in Malaysia, Datuk Jiang Wen Zhou shared his view that Malaysia, with more stable political and economic conditions along with better racial harmony and religious freedom than its neighboring countries, is a place where Taiwanese investors can be assured of success in either penetrating the ASEAN market or exploring markets in the Middle East. (SC)