Mida Frankfurt optimistic of 2017 investment prospects
19 Jan 2017
The Frankfurt office of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) is optimistic about its prospects in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to Malaysia from the four countries under its jurisdiction this year.
Its director, S. Siva, said the confidence stemmed from MIDA Frankfurt’s performance in 2016 which he described as a fairly good year.
Besides Germany, Mida Frankfurt has jurisdiction over Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
Mida Frankfurt has surpassed the target parameters or key performance index for 2016 as set by its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia drew total investments worth RM3.884bil in manufacturing and RM570mil in services from Germany during the January-November 2016 period, according to Mida figures.
“I’m satisfied with the progress made last year. Netherlands has emerged as the largest single investing nation in Malaysia with investments worth RM3.031bil in the first nine months of last year,” Siva told Bernama in an interview at his office in Frankfurt.
The total investment from the Netherlands amounted to RM977mil in 2015.
Dutch companies are involved in various projects in Malaysia. They include the Pengerang Terminal, Oryx Stainless, Press Metal Bintulu, Benchmark Electronic, Volvo Car Manufacturing, and Teleplan Technology.
Germany’s FDI inflow into Malaysia during the January-September 2016 period was worth RM1.541bil and RM1.161bil for the whole of 2015.
Major investors from Germany include Osram Opto Semiconductors, Infineon Technologies, Sew Eurodrive, and Hubner Malaysia.
Mida Munich also played its part in attracting investments from Germany.
The FDI from Belgium amounted to RM585mil during the January-September 2016 period, while that of the small landlocked nation of Luxembourg was RM539mil.
Belgian companies that made their presence in Malaysia include X-FAB Sarawak, Melexis and GOI Chemicals, while the sole investor from Luxembourg was St Jude Medical Operations.
Siva said Lufthansa Technik was keen to set up a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Kuala Lumpur, while Volkswagen Group was relocating its Asia-Pacific after-sales centre from Singapore to Malaysia, but he declined to give details of the big-ticket investment decisions.
“Many potential investors and corporate executives are attracted to Malaysia’s strategic location, coupled with the availability of raw material and access to the huge hinterland market of the Asean Economic Community,” he said.
Mida Frankfurt also plans a host of investment-promotion activities in 2017, including a visit by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed to Hamburg in March this year.
Buoyed by the success of the inaugural Asean Investment Forum (AIF) here last year, Siva said MIDF Frankfurt planned to hold the second AIF this year with the participation of the investment-promotion offices of the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam in Germany.
It will be held in partnership with the Singapore-based EU-Asean Business Council, the World Trade Institute, the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the German Business Council on Asia Pacific.
“I hope the AIF will be institutionalised as a yearly event,” he said.
Siva said MIDA Frankfurt would also hold an investment seminar for German small and medium enterprises in collaboration with the German SME Association and several banks.
Other events in the pipeline include a job fair to connect German companies operating in Malaysia with potential candidates from the growing pool of Malaysian students studying engineering at German institutions of higher learning.
Some 900 Malaysian students are pursuing higher studies at various German technical universities and institutes.
Mida Frankfurt also plans to hold a seminar on high-tech industry in collaboration with the European School of Management and Technology, and Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources and K-Pintar, a Malaysia human resources company. – Bernama
Source : The Star
