KUALA LUMPUR: An abundance of investment opportunities are up for grabs for entrepreneurs and companies from Malaysia and China underthe China’s Belt and Road initiatives, says MCA Deputy President Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

With upcoming RM10bil oil refinery in Johor, additional ports in Malacca and Klang, along with Vision Valley in Negri Sembilan, trade opportunities were bound to increase, Dr Wee told representatives from China during the networking dinner of the Malaysia-China Business Dialogue on the Belt and Road Initiative.

“We have upgraded our bilateral ties to become strategic partners, which is only possible because of mutual trust. In business, what is more important than trust?

“In just a few years, we saw an increase in cooperation in many industries,” said Dr Wee adding that he expects more cooperation between businesses in the coming years.

He also pointed out that Malaysia was one of the countries that has no language barrier with China.

“I can say that apart from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Malaysia is the only country that has the best-preserved Chinese language.

“Other races are also entering Chinese vernacular school to learn the language. As many as 19% of the students in Chinese schools are non-Chinese. This shows Malaysia will be able to compete internationally.

“We hope this will allow us to have better cooperation with China in the coming years,” he said.

Earlier, during the Malaysia-China Business Dialogue, participants were briefed on the cooperation opportunities in both countries.

Halal Industry Development Corporation CEO Datuk Seri Jamil Bidin said there was a gap of 80% between the supply and demand of halal products in the world.

“Therefore, there is a huge potential for more players to come into the industry to serve the global Muslim population of 1.8 billion,” he said.

He said Malaysia and China can work together to make China one of the biggest sources for halal products.

“China needs a more aggressive development of halal standards and certification. It needs people with knowledge on halal training and talent development,” he said.

-The Star-