April 18, 2009 at 2:54 am
(No Ratings Yet)The East Coast Economic Region (ECER) is on an investment mission to Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, led by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. 
Held from April 19 to 29, the trade and investment mission will enhance bilateral trade and investments, with seminars and business meetings organized in the cities of Frankfurt, Milan and London.
During the road show, ECER Development Council representatives will focus on the region’s core economic thrusts in oil, gas and petrochemical, manufacturing, agriculture and tourism.
Malaysia is an attractive destination for foreign investments, particularly in the manufacturing sector, with the country recording 38 per cent increase in approved FDIs amounting to RM46.1 billion or 73.4 per cent increase in 2008 from RM33.4 billion in 2007.
This represented the fifth consecutive year of growth in FDIs with RM20.2 billion in 2006, RM17.9 billion in 2005 and RM13.1 billion in 2004.
Germany ranks tenth among Malaysia’s global trading partners. It was an important source of FDI in 2008, with investments of RM4.4 billion compared with RM3.7 billion a year earlier. Germany was the second largest source of FDI in 2007, with RM3.7 billion compared with RM232.3 million in 2006.
For the first 11 months of 2008, bilateral trade between Malaysia and Italy amounted to US$2.22 billion, and Italy has remained Malaysia’s fifth largest trading partner within the European Union.
Malaysia’s trade with Italy has grown two-fold from US$1.22 billion in 2001 to US$2.41 billion in 2007. Investment inflows from Italy into Malaysia from 2003 to October 2008 totaled US$118.07 million in 24 approved projects.
For the first 10 months of 2008, inflows amounted to US$21.57 million, an increase of 42 per cent from the previous year.
Meanwhile, UK’s strong ties with Malaysia, a familiar commercial and legal framework and the widespread use of English are all conducive to a vibrant business relationship.
UK exports in goods and services to Malaysia in 2005 were valued at £1520m, placing Malaysia as the UK’s second largest export market in South East Asia, after Singapore. The UK is also one of the largest investors in Malaysia, investing over £20bn in the past 30 years.