SHANGHAI: There is growing interest among Chinese firms in investing in Malaysia, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, reached this conclusion after a full day of talks with potential investors in Shanghai.
The prime minister described the development as positive for attracting investors from China.
"Together with the ministers today, I focused on investment matters.
"Discussions, whether one-on-one or in groups, centred on our policies, the regulatory environment for investments and any issues that were raised.
"I also observed a growing interest and inclination from China, which is a very positive development.
"Although it has been somewhat exhausting with continuous meetings since morning, I believe it has been worthwhile," he added during a doorstop interview with Malaysian media following a roundtable session with 24 Chinese industry leaders.
When asked about the expected investment amount from potential investors, Anwar said it would be announced tomorrow.
Anwar 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.
At the same time, Anwar also 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. 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.