MIDA expects more FDIs from Japan by year-end

Source from (The Sun Daily): http://www.thesundaily.my/news/512717

Published: October 11, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 11, 2012): Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) is expecting more new foreign direct investment (FDI) from Japan by the end of this year, its chief executive officer Datuk Noharuddin Nordin said yesterday.

"We are still in negotiations with foreign companies on investing in Malaysia, which include Japan," he told reporters after dinner talk in conjunction with the Look East Policy conference here yesterday.
Noharuddin said last year Japan emerged as the biggest source of FDI with investments totalling US$3.2 billion, which was also the largest ever investment from the country.

"For the first seven months of this year, Japan is number two behind Saudi Arabia with approved FDI of US$578.30 million compared with the latter's US$843.319 million. We still have a few months to go and this position may change," he said.

Apart from that, he said MIDA is working with the Malaysia-Japan Economic Association (MAJECA) and Japan-Malaysia Economic Association (JAMECA) on the database of Japan's small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

This is in line with the government's aspiration to further increase collaboration between Japan and Malaysia's SMEs in the future.

Noharuddin said most Japanese SMEs are more interested in collaborating with the local SMEs rather than investing directly in Malaysia.

He said among the potential sectors that Japanese SMEs are known for are advanced electronics, green technology and automotive. – Bernama