More high value-added investments needed from China

“We’ve to move up the value chain and move downstream as well. For example, in the oil and gas industry, we have to create more downstream projects in Malaysia,” Najib said at the CNBC Summit: Malaysia 2013 hosted by CNBC anchor Martin Soong.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is seeking more Chinese investments in higher value-added sectors of the economy even though China is now Malaysia’s biggest investor.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that while the country was enjoying a stream of foreign direct investment (FDI) from China, there was a need for more investments higher up the supply chain.

“We’ve to move up the value chain and move downstream as well. For example, in the oil and gas industry, we have to create more downstream projects in Malaysia,” he said at the CNBC Summit: Malaysia 2013 hosted by CNBC anchor Martin Soong.

China was Malaysia’s biggest trading partner with a 14.4% share of Malaysia’s total trade of RM769.6bil during the January-July 2013 period.
The country is seeing an inflow of Chinese investments in sectors like logistics and steel.

Malaysia to see RM5.5bil worth of investments

DAVOS: Several multinational companies have agreed in principle to invest a total of RM5.5bil over several years, mostly up and down the value chain of Malaysia's resurgent oil and gas (O&G) industry.

While the investment figure was just a ballpark figure, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said during meetings held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, which began here Thursday, heads and senior management of these multinational companies expressed interest in investing in the country.

"I met with Itochu Corp, which has expressed an interest in partnering Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) to further develop the petrochemical industry in the Refinery & Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in Pengerang," he said.

Najib said the talks were coming to fruition and this would positively impact the development of the RM60bil Rapid project.

He said besides this project, Itochu has also expressed an interest in setting up an integrated seamless pipe factory for the O&G industry.

Meanwhile, Najib said the Hanwha Group, a South Korean industrial group, has expressed interest in several investments, including taking over Thalheim, Germany-based Q-Cells SE's Malaysian operations.