Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, who was recently appointed Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI), today met the Japanese Chamber of Trade and Industry, Malaysia (JACTIM) and Malaysian Consortium of Mid-Tier Companies (MCMTC).

He said it was to ensure Malaysia remains a major investment destination in Southeast Asia and is competitive to support regional and global supply chains.

“Hopefully this kind of meeting can benefit the economy and maintain our growth momentum, given that the global environment is expected to be more challenging next year,” he said on his twitter page here today.

Previously, he had also met with the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) and the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM).

Tengku Zafrul has discussed and exchanged ideas about initiatives that can increase international trade, investment and industrial development, which are the cores of MITI.

“Hopefully this cooperation can spur Malaysia’s economic development,” he said.

He has also held several meetings and discussions with MITI and several agencies under the ministry such as the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) and the Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM).

MIDA has successfully recorded net foreign direct investment (FDI) amounting to RM48.2 billion in 2021 and RM54 billion in the first nine months of this year. MIDA has also approved RM309.4 billion in investment for 2021 as well as RM123.3 billion for the first half of this year.

“I believe that the cooperation between MITI and MIDA will be able to effectively support economic growth and create more business opportunities,” he said. — BERNAMA