WCEF Ideal Platform To Boost China’s Investment In Malaysia

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), Nov 22 (Bernama) -– The Sixth World Chinese Economic Forum (WCEF), to be held in Chongqing, China on Dec 4-5, provides an ideal platform to boost investments from China into Malaysia. Transport Minister, Liow Tiong Lai said last year, the total approved investments from China amounted to US$920 million whereas Malaysia's investments in China was US$6 billion. Liow, who will be one of the distinguished speakers at the forum, said there was room for growth in bilateral investment and much needed to be done to encourage greater investments from China into Malaysia. “To date, China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner since 2009, and I am optimistic that we can also boost bilateral trade from the current US$106 billion to US$160 billion by 2017,” he said at the media launch of the Sixth WCEF here Friday. “China's importance to Malaysia extends beyond economic partnership,” Liow said. According to him, Malaysia was the first Southeast Asian country to have established a relationship with China. “Prime Minister Najib Razak has undertaken the remarkable task of reaffirming mutual trust, understanding and friendship, first fought by our second Prime Minister, Abdul Razak Hussein 40 years ago,” he said. In this respect, he said the forum in Chongqing was organised to promote closer ties between China, Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia, the West as well as the global Chinese diaspora. The WCEF attracts speakers and participants from more than 25 countries worldwide and is recognised as the leading knowledge and networking event, bringing together over 3,000 participants from China, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Australia over the past several years. Among other distinguished speakers who have confirmed their presentation at the forum are Deputy Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Mah Siew Keong. Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia, Dr Huang Huikang said that Chongqing was the ideal platform to stage the forum as participants would view the city as the window to the rapid development taking place in China. “Chongqing is the biggest city in the world with population size almost the same as Malaysia,” he said. Meanwhile, Dr Michael Yeoh, Chairman of WCEF and Chief Executive Officer of Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI), said the forum was also supported by the Chinese leadership who viewed the connectivity between China and Asean countries as central to China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative espoused by President Xi Jinping. “The WCEF is also a forum that connects entrepreneurs from China and the global Chinese diaspora,” Yeoh said. -- BERNAMA