JOHOR BARU: Malaysia remains China’s valuable trading partner despite the recent clampdown on capital outflow by Beijing, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
He added that Chinese investments in the country, besides property, also included manufacturing which has created many employment opportunities for locals.
“We must look at foreign direct investment (FDI) from many angles.
“It is not purely on buying properties here.
“After Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak’s recent visit to China, we could see that the prices and demand for our commodities, especially palm oil, have gone up,” he said at a press conference after officiating at an equity management course organised by China Press here yesterday.
The MCA deputy president pointed out that 550,000 smallholders in the country, besides the giant companies, have benefited from it.
“We talked about construction and infrastructure under the Belt and Road initiatives. I would say the expansion of ports, railway, or even big buildings built by China, will nake a financial impact on our country as well.”
On another matter, Dr Wee also urged local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to venture into e-commerce to expand their businesses.
“SMEs contributed to 36% of our gross domestic product (GDP) last year.
“The Government aims to increase it to 41% by 2020,” he said.
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