Greater Kuala Lumpur Remains Attractive to Leading Global Companies from China

The China Malaysia Cross Border Matchmaking Forum aims to elevate Greater Kuala Lumpur’s investment opportunities through RCEP and new collaborations

Kuala Lumpur, 23rd August 2022: China Construction Bank (“CCB”) and InvestKL jointly hosted the “China Malaysia Cross Border Matchmaking Forum 2022” on 18th August 2022, which aims to explore new and potential business and investment opportunities as well as to promote strategic collaboration between Malaysia and China.

Headquartered in Beijing, CCB is a leading commercial bank in China, ranking fifth in Forbes Global 2000. The co-host, InvestKL, is the investment agency for Greater Kuala Lumpur under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry; focused to attract and facilitate the establishment of global services hubs by the world's leading companies.

The convention of the forum themed “Into Greater Kuala Lumpur” reinforced the strong and longstanding ties between the two countries as this year marks the 48th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China.

The forum held at Menara CCB was graced and officiated by YB Senator Datuk Lim Ban Hong, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, Malaysia (“MITI”), His Excellency Ouyang Yujing, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to Malaysia, Ms Sun Jianbo, General Manager of CCB International Business Department and Ms Chelsea Ma Yan, Deputy Managing Director of CCB Malaysia. The event was also attended by CEOs and senior-level management from leading Chinese companies, government agencies and partners.

CEO of InvestKL, Muhammad Azmi Zulkifli says “The implementation of RCEP will further unleash the potential in trade between Malaysia and China and help transform and enhance regional industries as well as injecting new vitality into regional economic development. We welcome more investments from China especially in innovation, technology and ESG-driven industries to tap into the opportunities available in Malaysia and Greater KL to establish their global services hubs. We hope to capitalise on our current relationship to strengthen the existing trade and investment ties with China.”

His Excellency Ouyang Yujing stated that China has maintained the status of Malaysia's largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years, and a series of major "Belt and Road" cooperation projects such as the "Two Countries and Two Parks" and the East Coast Railway have been implemented, which have effectively driven the regional economic development and benefited the people.

He added that compared with neighbouring countries, Malaysia has a huge potential to attract Chinese investment. The Chinese government has always encouraged Chinese companies to invest in Malaysia and Greater Kuala Lumpur has a sound infrastructure, high-quality talents, and a good business environment.

Sun Jianbo, General Manager of International Business Department of China Construction Bank, shared that, Malaysia is currently in a period of industrial restructuring and upgrading, and has formulated development plans such as the "2030 Shared Prosperity" vision, the "12th Malaysia Plan" and the "Malaysia Digital Plan".

She also added, “Greater Kuala Lumpur, located in the fast-growing centre of the Asian market, with active commercial transactions and a strong domestic demand market with a population of 3.6 billion, and strategic locations connecting the Far

East, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East, is an excellent investment location. The excellent positioning of Greater Kuala Lumpur and the advantages of
the rise of commercial Asia have made it the first choice for multinational companies to invest.”

The holding of this forum will help potential domestic investors to understand the investment advantages and potentials of Malaysia and Greater Kuala Lumpur, help CCB improve its ability to serve new financial services for customers coming out of the "Belt and Road", and help China and Malaysia to deepen the level of cooperation in regional centres has been improved, allowing China and Malaysia to "share development.