US-China trade war can benefit Asean

Against the backdrop of an escalating trade war between the US and China, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Dr Ong Kian Ming is advocating greater cooperation between Asean countries to package the region to foreign investors instead of focusing on country specific promotion.

“Is there a possibility whereby countries in Asean can work together to deliver a package, an attractive package to foreign direct investors who want to relocate and invest more in Malaysia as a result of this trade war?” he said while delivering his keynote address at the Selangor International Business Summit 2018 (SIBS).

“So far I have not seen such a concerted effort but I think this is where opportunity lies,” Ong added.

He said Malaysia and it’s Asean counterparts should look at ways as a comprehensive unit to take advantage of this situation.

Drawing reference to the strong two way cross border trade linkage in terms of investment and expertise exchange between Johor and Singapore, Ong said Malaysia should replicate this with other countries.

He also noted that interest from Chinese companies to invest in Malaysia, coming through the Malaysian Investment Development Authority, has risen since last year.

Instead of setting hub in Malaysia, Ong added that Chinese companies could use Malaysia as a connecting point to tap into the Asean market.

He opined that the trade war between US and China is less than likely to find a resolution in the short term and Malaysia, being an open economy will be affected by the trade duel.

In that light, Malaysia should be open to investments and ratify trade agreements such as RCEP and CPTPP, which are yet to be signed in order to strengthen its stance on remaining open to trade.

“As tariffs have gone down, the non-tariff measures has also gone down. That is why we need to have a greater push among the governments in Asean with the help of the business sector to come in and advice the government on the challenges they face so that we can remove or reduce some of the regulatory red tape with regards to the non-tariff measures,” he said referring to non-tariff barriers.

Ong said in that regard, Asean is working together to compile a database of non-tariff measures so that the trade bloc could gather some of the regulatory and bureaucratic issues faced by companies when setting shop in another Asean state.