KUALA LUMPUR, 12 MARCH 2025: The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) informed that as of December 2024, a total of 56 potential projects with an investment commitment of nearly RM20 billion have been identified and are set to be implemented in the country.
It stated that large international companies such as Intel, Amazon Web Services, Oracle, Google and Plexus continued to commit to investing or increasing their investments in Malaysia, making the country one of the primary destinations for over 600 US companies.
“Although Malaysia has now joined BRICS, the country continues to maintain strong relations with its traditional trade partners. The evolving relationship with the US and Europe ensures that Malaysia can capitalise on economic opportunities from both sides without neglecting its involvement in the growing BRICS bloc,” the ministry said, adding that the country’s involvement in BRICS also opens up broader market access, especially with countries that do not have free trade agreements with Malaysia like Russia, Brazil, South Africa and India.
“This move has the potential to provide new opportunities in the trade and investment sectors while strengthening Malaysia’s position as a dynamic economy globally. Additionally, the country’s trade performance also shows impressive growth,” it explained.
In 2024, the total trade with the United States recorded RM325 billion, an increase of 30% compared to RM250 billion in 2023, while trade between Malaysia and European countries reached RM263 billion, an increase of 4% compared to the previous year.
MITI said that the BRICS economic bloc, which recorded nearly US$30 trillion in 2024, provides Malaysia with an opportunity to further strengthen its strategic position in international trade.
“With this background, Malaysia aims to continue improving its competitiveness and empowering the national economy through the MADANI Economic Framework, in line with the inclusive social and economic development plan,” it added, highlighting that the government is already taking measures to mitigate the negative impact of global economic uncertainties on international trade by expanding export destinations and strengthening trade diplomacy.
It explained that these measures are part of a strategy to ensure Malaysia’s economic resilience in facing geopolitical challenges and escalating trade wars in 2025.
“The government is also expanding export market access through new free trade agreements (FTAs), including the Malaysia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
“The ongoing FTA negotiations include the Malaysia-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) FTA, the ASEAN-Canada FTA and the Malaysia-Korea FTA, while negotiations for an FTA between Malaysia and the European Union will resume this year.
“The government is also exploring the potential for an FTA with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and several other countries,” MITI stated, emphasising that in its efforts to maintain market access and trade stability, Malaysia is strengthening diplomatic ties and trade diplomacy through a soft diplomacy approach.
The government will also continue to play an active role in exploring new strategic economic opportunities to ensure Malaysia remains competitive in addressing the increasingly complex challenges of the global economy.
