PETALING JAYA, Oct 10 (Sin Chew Daily) — Malaysia is urged to support Taiwan's bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), says Anne Hung, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office representative in Malaysia.

Hung said Taiwan's inclusion into CPTPP will help diversify trade chain and expand the connection with international market. This would also improve economic efficiency and maintain supply chain, she added.

Hung also said Taiwan's inclusion will help establish a complete trade chain among CPTPP members.

She said this during a roundtable forum organized by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) on "Malaysia, Taiwan and CPTPP: Economic growth and opportunities in recovery".

In her speech, Hung said Taiwan had close trade links with CPTPP members as 30% of its imports were from those countries and it exported 20% of its goods to them.

Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam are Taiwan's top trading partners.

On investment, Hung said 30% of Taiwan's foreign direct investments came from CPTPP members, while 54% of its direct investments overseas were in CPTPP member countries.

Taiwan and Malaysia were closely linked in trade with common interest in business and investment, she said.

For the past so many years, Taiwan has been one of Malaysia's main trading partners. Bilateral trade between both countries was close to US$20 billion in 2019.

Taiwan was Malaysia's sixth trading partner while Malaysia was Taiwan's seventh trading partner. 

"Taiwan is the fifth largest source of foreign investments for Malaysia with an accumulated investment capital of US$13.65 billion, mainly in manufacturing, electronics, biotechnology and high-tech sectors," she explained.

Taiwan authorities held consultations and communication with the public to amend legislation to comply with the standards imposed by CPTPP.

IDEAS CEO Tricia Yeoh hosted the forum where a report entitled "Malaysia, Taiwan and CPTPP: Economic Impact Assessment" was also released.

The report said a speedy CPTPP ratification would stimulate economic recovery in Malaysia without increasing the financial burden while Taiwan's inclusion in CPTPP would assist Malaysia to have a comprehensive supply chain and speed up digitalisation and industry 4.0, in favor of Malaysia's economy.