Trade And Investment Mission To The United States Of America Covering Washington DC, San Francisco, Seattle And Los Angeles

The Trade and Investment Mission (TIM) is one of the Government’s main initiatives to attract investments into Malaysia. Over the years, these missions have attracted many investment projects.  More than 5,000 companies from over 40 countries have made Malaysia as their preferred location for their manufacturing and related services operations in various sectors.

In 2021, the United States (U.S.) was Malaysia’s third (3rd) largest trading partner and export destination, as well as the fourth (4th) largest source of imports ; where else Malaysia is the U.S.’ 17th largest trading partner. In terms of investment, the country is Malaysia’s fourth (4th) largest source of foreign direct investment based on immediate source of investment.

The TIM to the United States of America (USA) took place from 8 to18 May 2022 and covering (4) four major cities – Washington DC, San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles. The mission was led by YB. Dato’ Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI), together with MIDA, which was represented by Datuk Arham Abdul Rahman the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and other agencies. The TIM also involved visits to manufacturing facilities and one-on-one business meetings with prominent American companies.

In our continuous efforts to attract quality investments into the country and further improve trade performance, the TIM focused on finalising high-value investment and export opportunities as well as creating high-income jobs in various sectors, including electrical and electronics (E&E), medical devices, steel technology, telecommunications, data center services and furniture products.

The TIM to the USA was aimed to acknowledge the long-standing economic ties and partnership with American companies that have provided significant impetus for Malaysia’s industrial growth. During this mission, H.E. Brian McFeeters, the U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia, joined in one of a series of meetings with the U.S. Government counterpart as well as participated in the meetings held with some of the top US- based companies. This is an important testament that shows the importance of the U.S. Government in strengthening bilateral relations with Malaysia, especially in the economic sector.

The TIM was also organised in-conjunction with the US-ASEAN Special Summit 2022 which was attended by The Right Honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob on the 12 and 13 May 2022.

Committed investment in 2022

The TIM successfully secured a total of RM16.52 billion in committed investment for 2022. These companies have also expressed their commitment to not only injecting new investments in Malaysia, but also to ensuring the transfer of new technology, high-value job creation, training and upskilling opportunities, ecosystem creation and the involvement of local universities and industries, particularly among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) actively involved in the supply chain.

The TIM delegates met several high-value companies. To name few of the companies including:

• Texas Instruments, a US-based global semiconductor company plans to increase its investment in Melaka.

• Insulet, a medical device company that, among others, produces Omnipod, a high-tech device that enables diabetics to inject insulin automatically. During the first 5 years, it is anticipated that this project will generate employment opportunities for 2,000 people.

• Boston Scientific is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of medical devices, with headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and having a facility in Batu Kawan. The company is committed to continuing its expansion project to produce advanced medical devices for heart patients and making Malaysia a hub to produce such devices in the Southeast Asian region.

• Ferrotec, a global supplier of materials, components, and precision system solutions and a Tier 1 company in the semiconductor machinery supply chain, plans to establish a new manufacturing facility in Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah.

YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, Senior Minister and Minister of MITI (left) handing over a plaque as a token of appreciation to Mr. Christopher Neil (Principal Manager Program at Microsoft). Beside him is Mr. Mark Leveck (Principle Technical PM Manager of Azure Engineering and Sustainability), Mr. Sheikh Manzoor Ghani (General Manager, Public Sector of Microsoft Malaysia), and YBhg. Datuk Arham Abdul Rahman, CEO of MIDA (far right)

During the TIM, the delegation had the opportunity to visit the facilities of many established global players such as Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Space Exploration Technologies:

• Microsoft

Under the Microsoft’s Bersama Malaysia Initiative announced on 22 April 2021, Microsoft commits to training up to 1 million Malaysians by the end of 2023. This initiative will propel the local digital workforce to drive the nation’s digital economic growth.

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Seattle is committed in playing a part towards Malaysia’s aspiration to become a digital economy-oriented nation that relies on cloud computing services. The company is looking into potential locations to expand and establish data centres in Malaysia.

• Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX)

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is a global space launch provider with internal design and manufacturing capabilities. SpaceX has developed Starlink which is a satellite-based internet constellation project that provides high-speed satellite internet access in both speed and latency, even at rural areas at a very low cost. Starlink is currently in discussion with the Malaysian Government on digital communication regulations. If the project is successfully developed, the Starlink service in Malaysia will be one of the first SpaceX projects in the region.

Datuk Arham Abdul Rahman, CEO of MIDA (left) is handing over a letter of approval to Dato’ Devinder Kumar, Executive Vice President, CFO and Treasurer of AMD (right).

Another significant highlights of the TIM, was the handover of the approval letter by MIDA to TF AMD during a Meet and Greet Session with the Prime Minister during his visit to Washington DC. TF AMD Microelectronics (Penang) Sdn. Bhd., a collaboration between TongFu Microelectronics (TFME) and AMD is expanding into a new facility to produce Advanced Integrated Circuit Based On 28nm to 3nm Process Technology. The project involves investments worth close to RM2.0 billion and additional employment of more than 2,000 Malaysians.

The TIM to the US has proven the Malaysian Government unwavering commitment to stimulating the nation’s economy through strategic investments and international trade globally.  MIDA is optimistic and foresee that the TIM will increase Malaysia’s visibility as a preferred investment hub, create more strategic opportunities and attract significant spill over to the country.