Electrical And Electronics Sector Among Key Investment Focus This Year -- Tengku Zafrul

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 (Bernama) -- The electrical and electronics (E&E) sector, especially semiconductors, will continue to be among the key sectors for potential investments this year, according to Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) chairman Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz. 

He said this in reference to the new investment plan, noting that MIDA has been focusing on diversification of industries for a long time.

“Under the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030) and National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS), MIDA will continue to see how we can build on the ecosystem that we built for 60 years for E&E and semiconductor.

“Secondly, in the field of chemical and petrochemicals, aerospace, especially when it comes to sustainability, we talk about green technology and green investment, which will also be important.

“We want to continue to be a major logistics hub. That's why, as a trading country that is open to trade, we need to strengthen our hub as a logistics hub for the region, if not for global,” he told Bernama after attending the Perdana Fellow Alumni Association’s speaker series titled ‘From Boardroom to Nation-building: Leadership Lesson from the Journey’ here yesterday.

He added that what is most important is the spillover effect.

“Apart from the contribution to the macroeconomy in terms of gross domestic product, inflation and employment numbers, we want to make sure that when we focus on these sectors, we create the right kind of jobs.

“You can see these are sectors where economic complexity is high. So, with the right kind of jobs, we can get better pay for our graduates and for Malaysians,” he said. 

Tengku Zafrul said the goal for the entire ecosystem is to integrate local companies into the global value chain.

He said rather than serving only Malaysian clients or companies, these companies should also support multinational corporations, enabling them to expand their reach to overseas markets such as India, China and the United States.

“Finally, for Malaysia, we want to ensure that when you look at our exports, we want to build on industries that will strengthen our trade position in the country, especially when it comes to our exports,” he said.

When asked about any projects or memoranda of understanding that have been formalised, he said there were many, but emphasised that announcements should be left to the companies themselves.

“I've been briefed that the pipeline looks okay, we just started this year, and there were many from last year. So, we will have to wait for the public announcement from the companies,” he said. 

Commenting on estimates of investment value from the various sectors, Tengku Zafrul said there was no target yet as MIDA’s management is still finalising the details.

“As usual, we will look at how the global economy is moving. For a certain sector, we cannot just look at the numbers, but we have to look at the right spillover too,” he said. 

-- BERNAMA