SHANGHAI: Malaysia's strategic position and appeal as an investment destination, supported by a skilled workforce and government policies, were among the topics discussed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim with potential Chinese investors today.
Anwar, who is on a working visit to China, began the third day of his trip in Shanghai with a dialogue session organised by Khazanah Nasional Bhd (Khazanah) this morning.
The session brought together two Chinese investors, including representatives from Chengwei Capital, a leading venture capital firm with unique expertise and resources in the global semiconductor industry.
He also met with representatives from NRL Capital, a science and engineering company founded by individuals pivotal in the successful development of high-tech industrial clusters across China.
During the meeting, potential collaborations in technology and innovation investments in Malaysia were explored with the investors.
The investors are expected to partner with Khazanah to develop next-generation Malaysian companies and enhance Malaysia's role in global supply chains, especially within high-tech sectors.
At the same time, Anwar held a closed-door, one-to-one business meeting with several Chinese companies from the banking, energy and chemical sectors.
This includes Bank of China, SinoChem, SICC Co, SEMCORP and Zhejiang Jiahua Energy Chemical Industry Co.
The prime minister also participated in a roundtable session with 24 'captains' of industry.
Anwar is scheduled to depart for Beijing at 4pm today to visit the Huawei Executive Briefing Centre before a courtesy call with President Xi Jinping tomorrow.
The prime minister's working visit to China is at the invitation of his counterpart, Li Qiang, to attend the 7th China International Import Expo (7th CIIE) in Shanghai.
For 15 years since 2009, China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner.
In 2023, total trade with China was valued at RM450.84 billion (US$98.80 billion), contributing 17.1 percent to Malaysia's global trade.
As of September this year, the total trade was recorded at RM355.15 billion (US$76.72 billion).
In the first half of 2024, a total of 15 manufacturing projects were implemented with investments totalling RM1.2 billion (US$252.5 million).