BERLIN, Sept 27 -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak accompanied by Representative of The Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business (APA) & chairman of B.Braun, Prof.Datuk Seri Dr. Ludwig Georg Braun (left) at the dialogue session with German business leaders Tuesday. Najib is on a three day official visit to the Federal Republic of Germany until tomorrow. --fotoBERNAMA (2016) COPYRIGHT RESERVED
BERLIN: Germany’s AWS Schaefer Technologie GmbH and Satellite Pipeline Sdn Bhd from Malaysia have sealed a joint-venture deal on Tuesday to build a RM80mil manufacturing facility in Gebeng, Pahang.
AWS Schaefer is a prominent family-owned company specialising in pipe-forming and pipe-manufacturing machines with more than 50 years of experience.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is here on a three-day official visit beginning Monday.
AWS Schafer chief executive officer Hubertus Engels signed the agreement on behalf of the company while Satellite Pipeline was represented by managing director Abdullah Osman.
The plant in Gebeng will be involved in engineering, fabrication and installation of a heat induction bending facility which is used mainly in the oil and gas industry.
The factory will also have a heat treatment facility and laboratory.
In a separate development, Najib told German business leaders at a dialogue session in Germany’s capital that Malaysia was now keen to attract the country’s mid-sized manufacturers in addition to the multinationals.
Studies show that no other country has as many mid-sized global market leaders as Germany, which has a population of about 80.6 million and is the world’s fourth largest economy.
Malaysia’s small and medium enterprises can therefore learn much from German mid-sized companies especially in terms of their entrepreneurial spirit, their competitive strategies and their adaptation and innovation in advanced technology, he said.
Accounting for a substantial number of companies and known collectively as “Mittelstand”, they are the backbone of the economy, supplementing the bigger well-established industrial and manufacturing giants.
“We look forward to more investments from Germany, particularly in new growth areas, in emerging technologies, and in capital-intensive, high value-added, knowledge-based, skill-intensive and export-oriented industries,” he said.
Companies participating in the dialogue included Atotech, AWS Schafer, BMW, Daimler, Osram, Volkswagen, Infineon, Bombardier Transportation, Ensinger, B.Braun, Green Sugar and Biesterfeld International.
He said there were also huge opportunities in the vibrant services sectors such as information and communications technology, oil and gas services, private healthcare, private high education, tourism and professional services.
Germany is Malaysia’s largest investor from the European Union with a total of 552 manufacturing projects to date, and these investments, which total US$11.4bil (about RM39.6bil), have created more than 63,500 new jobs.
Notable German firms which have already had a strong presence for decades include Volkswagen, BMW, BASF, Osram, Mercedes, Audi, Deutsche Bank, Siemens AG, Bosch and Infineon.
Last year, Germany was Malaysia’s 12th largest trading partner globally, with total bilateral trade of US$10.3bil (RM35.74bil).
Najib, who is also Finance Minister, is on a three-day official visit to Germany on the invitation of its Chancellor, Angela Merkel. - Bernama
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