PETALING JAYA, Mar 20 (Sin Chew Daily) — A more attractive incentive which offers fast track approvals will be launched to attract foreign investors, says Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI).

The new plan is being drafted at this moment, he told Sin Chew Daily in an exclusive interview.

The current incentive has been in place for 20 to 30 years and it's time to launch a new plan.

In addition, the application process is also too long, too complicated and too bureaucratic, he admitted.

"For foreigners to invest in Malaysia, apart from offering them incentives, they should not be kept waiting for too long. In order to obtain an approval from the federal government, state government or local government, sometimes it takes a long time. We should not let this matter to continue. We should shape a business-friendly environment," he said.

Azmin will be tabling to the cabinet a new investment policy draft to attract high quality investors to Malaysia.

MITI has discussed with the Finance Ministry and Bank Negara on investment policy. Incentive will be offered to attract high technology and top quality investors to the country, he said.

In the past, investors in Malaysia were mainly corporations heavily dependent on foreign workers. This has created social issues while the locals have been unable to draw high salaries and obtain quality jobs, he said.

"We need to change. In order to have high quality investments such as those in high technology we are required to review our existing policies and launch new ones," he said.

Based on the World Bank's report, to become a high-income nation in five years, Malaysia will need to invest in human capital and skilled workers to meet the demand of corporations in automation, Internet of Things, cloud services, big data and others.

He said Malaysia has to enhance its competitive edge and establish an attractive investment ecosystem, especially in post COVID-19 era when global demand is gradually increasing. High quality products manufactured in Malaysia will meet the global demand.

"Policy to attract foreign investors must be attractive to make us the investors' top choice. I believe foreign investors are still keen on Malaysia," he said.

Citing an example, he said SK Nexilis, a subsidiary of South Korean Fortune 500 company SKC Co, plans to set up its first overseas copper foil manufacturing plant in Sabah with an investment of RM2.3 billion.

"This is the green energy investment project which we would like to see, as Europe plans for its vehicles to achieve all-electric by 2030. Charging facilities and batteries are important for electric cars. I am glad to see them invest in such a big project here," he added.

Azmin also said representatives from Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited, the largest paperboard producer in Asia and second largest in the world, would be meeting the Prime Minister.

The company has planned to set up plants in Bentong and Banting with an investment of RM5.4 billion.

Azmin said foreign investors were still interested in Malaysia as the Malaysian government is committed to luring foreign investments.

The policy has to be targeting at creating high-quality products, upgrade skills and re-train local workforce to reduce dependency on foreign workers.