KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia remains competitive in attracting investments into the country, despite the challenging COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Senior Minister cum International Trade and Industry Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said Malaysia's strategic position, conducive business environment and ecosystem, as well as strategic investment-related initiatives are expected to continue to make Malaysia a preferred destination in the region.

In winding up the debate on the Yang DiPertuan Agong's royal address in the Dewan Rakyat today, he said the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) will continue to engage with foreign embassies, foreign chambers of commerce and related parties to strengthen trade and investment relations with foreign investors.

Nevertheless, he said the government acknowledges that the foreign direct investment (FDI) outlook will remain challenging and competitive as reported by the Department of Statistics Malaysia and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

"The government has not underestimated these reports and has taken aggressive and continuous measures, not just to control the decline in FDIs but also to reinvigorate foreign investments to help in the nation's economic recovery," he said.

Moving forward, Mohamed Azmin said the government will continue to adopt three main approaches in revitalising the nation's economy, including making the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) a catalyst for the safe and systematic reopening of the economy.

"As of Sept 21, 2021, 93.2 per cent of the local adult population have received one dose and 80.2 per cent have received their second dose, thus achieving the herd immunity target, " he said.

The government will also continue to strengthen the country's economic fundamentals through the implementation of trade and investment policies that are open, transparent and business-friendly.

"This includes the government's ongoing efforts to ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)," he said.

Additionally, Mohamed Azmin said Malaysia will also continue to target high quality, advanced technology-oriented investments, based on the National Investment Aspirations (NIA) which had also focused on long-term sustainability, with emphasis on environmental, social and governance elements (ESG).

The minister had also touched on the utilisation of renewable energy sources as well as the emphasis on the use of electric vehicles (EV) which has been on an uptrend in ASEAN as well as globally.

To support the EV ecosystem in the country, he said MITI is identifying new strategies to promote the EV industry to investors, including discussions with the Finance Ministry during the recent Budget 2022 dialogue.

This includes a policy that comprises a consumer-focused incentive package to attract investment in the EV ecosystem in addition to strengthening existing incentives for manufacturers of EVs and its components.

"This measure is expected to encourage investment in terms of the production of EV or its components, infrastructure support including EV charging stations as well as to increase consumer demand for the use of EV vehicles," he said.

EVs are expected to replace fossil energy-based vehicles in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) to preserve the environment and reduce carbon emissions.

-- BERNAMA