Large Japanese firms still keen to invest in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: More large Japanese companies intend to continue investing in Malaysia and also participate in major government projects, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

Source from (The Star Online): http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/11/business/12153597&sec=business
Published: October 11, 2012

He said many Japanese companies were keen to increase their investments in Malaysia, particularly, in technology-driven and manufacturing industries.

“In fact, the small and medium-sized Japanese companies are entering into joint ventures with Malaysian companies in areas like the manufacture of automotive component parts,” he said on the sidelines of “The Look East Policy – A New Dimension & MAJECA-JAMECA 31st Conference” here yesterday.

He said Japanese companies were also keen to take part in specific areas of infrastructure development, like the high speed railway project.
“They (Japanese companies) are also seeking to cooperate with us on this project, as are those from many other countries. But the tender is still open and we are looking for potential partners with the technology and financial capabilities for this project,” he added.
He said Japan had an advantage as the country was the first in the world to introduce the bullet train technology.

Meanwhile, on trade between both countries, Mustapa said he was confident that the trade surplus would continue in Malaysia’s favour. “We need not worry about the trade surplus with Japan which has been in our favour since 1997. However, in the years ahead and with the current global economic environment, we will be monitoring this trend very closely,” he added.
He also said that despite the current economic headwinds globally, Malaysia was still enjoying a trade surplus with other countries of late.

“Malaysia is registering at least a RM6bil surplus per month for the past few month from our total trade globally,” Mustapa said. — Bernama