Malaysia To Tap AIIB Funds For Multitude Development - Minister Ong Ka Chuan

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 (Bernama) -- Malaysia should take advantage of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in developing the country's multitude infrastructure sectors such as transportation and port development. Second Minister of International Trade and Industry Ong Ka Chuan said the AIIB can provide loans, invest in equity, guarantee loans, co-finance economic development and provide technical advise. "Malaysia should make use of AIIB'S many facilities to improve our transportation system, for instance. "With better transportation between Malaysia and Thailand, we can obtain raw material, like natural rubber, much quicker from Thailand to produce more rubber gloves to fulfill increasing global demand," he told reporters after opening an investment promotion conference titled, "Two Countries, Twin Parks", here Tuesday. The conference was jointly hosted by the MITI, government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Pahang state government, Malaysia-China Business Council and the East Coast Economic Region Development Council. Ong said to date, Malaysia accounted for 63 per cent of the global demand for rubber gloves but currently it takes a long time to obtain the required raw material. The US$100 billion AIIB is an initiative of the Chinese government aimed at supporting infrastructure development in the Asian region. Malaysia is one of the 57 founding members of the AIIB. --BERNAMA