Simplify procedures to boost new investments, says Japanese Ambassador

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia can expect a big boost in investments from Japan if the procedures relating to new investors are further simplified and streamlined, said Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Hiroshi Oka.

He said the Japanese government was also doing everything possible on its part to promote new investments into Malaysia which lately had diversified from the conventional electrical and electronics sector to include a more varied set of industries.

"There is still room for improvement for these potential new investments to materialise. For example, streamlining and simplifying investment-related procedures, such as setting up a one-stop service centre to facilitate new investments.

"Instead of securing many permissions needed for new investments by visiting and consulting with many government offices, which would often turn out to be a time consuming process, a one-stop service, if established, will handle all the necessary permissions and will be helpful for new investors," he told Bernama.

Oka proposed that the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA), as the premier investment promotion agency, can be the one-stop centre, including for non-manufacturing sector, to take care of all the myriad of procedures and bureaucracy to facilitate the newcomers.

"Of course, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and MIDA and all the relevant agencies in the ministry have been very helpful in further encouraging the Japanese business to come," he said.

Oka said his embassy officials were regularly discussing with MITI and MIDA, including on ways to improve the investment climate and any kind of friendlier environment provided by the Malaysian government was something which Japan always appreciated.

"But I have to emphasise that we have been having very much excellent collaboration and cooperation going on between Japan and Malaysia," he said, adding that this led to investments in new sectors such as the medical device, halal food and aircraft industries.

Last year, Japan emerged as the largest supplier of foreign direct investment, which he described as "a ringing endorsement of Malaysia's attractiveness as the top choice for Japanese companies' foreign investment destination.”

He said that one of the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic was the need to strengthen the resilience of the supply chain and in this regard, Japan is helping its companies to diversify their supply bases to minimise the risk of disruptions.

Oka disclosed that based on Japan's experience on the effectiveness and efficiency on the use of digital technologies, the government of Japan, the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), and the Japan Chamber of Trade and Industry, Malaysia (JACTIM) had been working with the Malaysian government and agencies like MITI, MIDA and the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) to help Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) introduce digital technologies to improve their productivity.

Last year alone, 10 seminars were conducted by JETRO and SIRIM with the cooperation of Japanese companies throughout the country by sharing their own expertise and experience on the use of digital technologies.

"We are now entering the second phase of this sharing process. We are looking towards to successful cases of introduction of digital technologies by Malaysian SMEs," he said.

-- BERNAMA