Trade and Investment: A Win-Win for the UK and Malaysia

I read with interest the reports in this week's press about a seminar in Birmingham featuring Malaysia's energetic Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.  The aim was to persuade British companies of the benefits of investing in Malaysia.  The last time Datuk Seri Mustapa did an event like this was last April in London.  And I was there to support his message. 

Malaysia is an excellent country for British companies to consider when they are looking to move into the dynamic Asia-Pacific region, the real power-house of today's global economy.  We already have several hundred firms here, operating in fields as diverse as financial services (eg HSBC, Standard Chartered, RBS and Prudential), oil and gas (Shell, Petrofac, AMEC), petrochemicals (BP), pharmaceuticals (Astra-Zeneca, Glaxo) and retail services (Giant, Tesco, Guardian).  But the Minister is right to focus on new areas like advanced engineering and life sciences. 

Dyson is one UK manufacturer which has made a new home in Malaysia.  They now make all their modernistic (and highly successful) vacuum cleaners in Johore and are looking to locate further operations in the Iskandar region.   A recently launched new product is the "air multiplier", a revolutionary bladeless fan (see photo).  One of the things Dyson have found since being here is that they have been able to move to Malaysia not only manufacturing, but also design, thanks to the quality of local design engineers.

Lotus (see separate Blog entry) is also an example of a UK high-performance engineering company which can bring valuable expertise to Malaysia, thus helping to strengthen the country's engineering base.  Aerospace is another, with one major company already established in Subang and doing very well.   We also see real opportunities in green technology and biotechnology, where the UK is a world leader.  I have a large team at the High Commission working on the trade and investment agenda.  As Malaysia's New Economic Model is unveiled,  We will be continuing to work with Datuk Seri Mustapa and his colleagues to identify further opportunities for UK-Malaysian co-operation.  I am convinced that this is a win-win for both sides.