PM meets Germany’s captains of industry in Berlin

BERLIN: More than 35 captains of industry and businesses joined a roundtable meeting with visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim here today.

The premier, who arrived here Sunday, took the opportunity to assure German businesses that Malaysia remains one of the best and preferred locations for investors.

The companies from the world's biggest economy that came to see the premier are involved in sectors like energy, medical devices, semiconductor, electronics, machinery, automotive and aerospace.

Among those who attended the meeting were Siemens AG group chief executive officer (CEO) Dr Roland Busch, B. Braun GmbH CEO Anna Braun and Melexis CEO Marc Biron.

Also present were Airbus Asia Pacific president Anand Stanley, Volkswagen Group Malaysia managing director Dr Susanne Lehmann, and Infineon Technologies AG chief operations officer Dr Rutger Wijburg.

Representatives from the German Chamber of Commerce, Malaysia-German Chamber of Commerce, and German Association for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (BVMW) were also there.

Also present during the meeting were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) CEO Datuk Wira Arham Abdul Rahman, and Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) CEO Datuk Mohd Mustafa Abdul Aziz.

There are over 700 German companies based in Malaysia creating 65,000 jobs.

Germany has been Malaysia's largest trading partner among European Union member countries since 2000, while Malaysia is the largest trading partner for Germany among ASEAN member states. In 2023, Malaysia's total trade with Germany increased by 5.9 per cent to RM63.45 billion (US$13.90 billion) from RM59.87 billion (US$13.62 billion) in 2022.

-- BERNAMA