ECER-Guangxi MoU To Boost Cooperation, Attract More Investments From China

From Hafizah Kamaruddin BEIJING, Nov 2 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's East Coast Economic Region (ECER) is set to attract more investments from China following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday with Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The MoU with the region, which is located in South Central China, will pave the way for accelerated economic and investment partnership opportunities in the areas of manufacturing, trade, finance and logistics. This will ultimately increase trade volume and job creation in ECER and Guangxi, the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC), which is a in charge for the development of the ECER, said in a statement Tuesday. As the second largest economy in the world and one of Malaysia's biggest trading partners, China's investments in ECER accounted for 38.3 per cent of the total foreign direct investments. Malaysian Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak and China's Premier, Li Keqiang, witnessed the MoU signing ceremony between ECERDC's Chief Executive Officer, Jebasingam Issace John and Vice Governor of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Zhang Xiaoqin. Najib is on six-day official visit to China starting Monday. ECERDC said both signatories had also agreed to jointly organise and participate in economic and investment promotional activities. Jebasingam said the MoU will set a promising future for the continued strong economic cooperation and trade relations between Guangxi of China and ECER in Malaysia. "Underpinned by China's 'One Belt, One Road' policy, the MoU will attract more investors from China to invest in ECER and leverage on its strategic location, multi-talented and multi-lingual workforce as well as its connectivity to various markets in the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and beyond. "Conversely, this will also lead to more business opportunities for our investors and entrepreneurs wishing to tap China's vast marketplace," he said. As part of the MoU, a bilateral working group will be set up to oversee the implementation of the initiatives to facilitate investments, particularly in the fast-growing and key industries such as advanced manufacturing, alternative and renewable energy, bio-economy and food and beverage, he said. He said over the years, ECER has continued to attract investments in these areas to its industrial parks, especially the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP), which has received about US$4.76 billion (RM20 billion) in investments to-date. At a separate event, Wuxi Suntech Power Co Ltd firmed up its commitment with ECERDC to invest US$953.24 million (RM4 billion) in MCKIP to set up a production base for solar cells and green energy equipment by exchanging an investment commitment MoU. To-date, this production base will be the largest, single solar cell factory in South-East Asia. Jebasingam said this large-scale investment will potentially create 5,194 direct and indirect employment opportunities and coupled with the industrial technology transfer, will play a key role in transforming Pahang to be an industrialised state. "This investment is significant as it is export-driven and will not only give Pahang’s economy a boost, it will also strengthen the country's economy. It is also in line with the government's policy to encourage investments in renewable energy," he said. Meanwhile, ECER's sea, rail and land connectivity is set to be further enhanced through a number of key strategic projects. Among them is the upgrading of Kuantan Port into a deep-sea port which is progressing on schedule. Upon completion, Kuantan Port will be capable of handling 52 million freight weight tonnes and vessels of up to 200,000 deadweight tonnage. In addition, the extension of the East Coast Expressway and the proposed East Coast Rail Link in Malaysia will link all key cities, ports and investment hubs in the east coast of Malaysia to the central region and Greater Kuala Lumpur and Port Klang. Since 2009, China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for the seventh consecutive year. In turn, Malaysia has also emerged as China's eighth largest trading partner worldwide and the largest trading partner among ASEAN countries. Malaysia's trade with China expanded to US$97.35 billion (US$1 = RM4.19) in total trade volume in 2015, thus reaffirming the country's competitiveness in the region. --BERNAMA