Malaysia welcomes Chinese investment

Chinese enterprises have comparative advantages in manufacturing and Malaysia welcomes Chinese investors, said Syed Mohamad Fairus, director of Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation's Chengdu office.

"I would recommend the manufacturing sector as a key area for Chinese investment.

"This is because we are at the center of ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) and we have developed infrastructure and transportation links connecting us to these countries," the trade promotion official told China Daily at the Western China International Fair.

"A presence in Malaysia gives you access to a 600 million people," he said.

According to Fairus, the major focus for China's investment in Malaysia includes real estate, mining, manufacturing and plantations. Malaysia is the world's largest palm oil producer and palm oil has been the second-largest export to China.

Also, the Malaysian government has encouraged Malaysian companies to invest in China's service industry.

For example, Malaysia's Parkson Corp, has invested heavily in China's department store market.

Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia, told China Daily in a separate interview that he hoped to see more Sichuan investors investing in Malaysia.

"Bilateral trade between Sichuan and Malaysia has grown rapidly in the past few years and reached $3.2 billion in 2012. Total Malaysian investment in the region has hit $450 million. But the region's investment toward Malaysia is still limited," he said.

Malaysia now is the largest trading partner with China in ASEAN. When President Xi Jinping visited the country earlier this month, top leaders from both sides vowed to bolster bilateral trade from 2012's $94.8 billion to $160 billion by 2017.