Malaysia has much to gain from China’s Greater Bay Area: Gobi Partners co-founder
12 Sep 2022
Malaysia, given its importance within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), has much to gain in investments from China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA).
The GBA refers to the Chinese government’s strategy to link the cities of Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing into an integrated economic and business hub.
Speaking at the Petronas Experience Ventures event earlier today, co-founder and chairman of pan-Asian venture capital firm Gobi Partners, Thomas G. Tsao said over the next 10 years, a significant amount of investments coming out of China would be concentrated from the GBA.
“The global image of China as the manufacturer of low quality products has clouded over the fact that China is currently the largest producer of research papers across a myriad of segments and expertise in the world.
“In fact, China has been diligently funding research and development (R&D) and this investment in R&D would substantially grow over time.
“China is not looking at manufacturing products only anymore, now they are looking at clean, green-friendly areas of investments such as artificial intelligence, fintech, health tech, industry 4.0, sustainability and web 3,” Tsao added.
Malaysia, whose government is committed towards accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and has articulated its vision to become a carbon neutral nation by 2050, is a prime contender as recipient or partner of investments from the GBA.
“Malaysia’s positioning within Asean, BRI as well as the diversity of its people are attractive to GBA investors as well as those from the Silicon Valley in America. Malaysia stands to gain a lot of investment money as long as it remains neutral and steadfast to its green-friendly vision,” he said.
Ultimately, Tsao said investments in the future would mostly be into companies that are doing their best in battling climate change and are compliant to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.
Founded in 2002, Gobi Partners has raised 15 funds with US$1.5 billion of assets under management, invested in over 320 startups and nurtured nine unicorns.
It has grown to 15 locations across key markets in Bangkok, Beijing, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Lahore, Manila, Riyadh, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore and Surabaya.
Source: NST
