China commits to investing nearly US$39bil in Malaysia: PM

China commits to investing nearly US$39bil in Malaysia: PM

04 Apr 2023

China will invest an estimated RM170.07bil (US$38.64bil) in Malaysia, including in the petrochemical and automotive industries, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday.

Rongsheng Petrochemical Co Ltd will invest an estimated RM80bil in a petrochemical refinery in southern Malaysia, Anwar said in parliament.

Automaker Geely will invest RM2bil initially and later ramp that up to RM32bil, he said.

Anwar, who was on an official visit to China last week, did not give a time frame for the total investment commitments.

The premier also said he discussed with China reducing Asia’s dependency on the U.S. dollar.

Malaysia’s central bank is working on an initiative to allow Kuala Lumpur and China to conduct trade using the ringgit and renminbi, he said.

“There is no reason for a country like Malaysia to continue to depend on the U.S. dollar,” Anwar said.

Anwar said he proposed setting up an ‘Asian Monetary Fund’ at the Boao Forum in China last week, and in a bilateral meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed the idea to be discussed further. 

Source: Reuters