Malaysia secures $555 million potential exports during PM’s China visit

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia secured 2.44 billion ringgit ($555.30 million) in potential exports during Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to China last week, a government trade agency said on Wednesday.

The products Chinese importers were interested to source from Malaysia included palm oil, food and beverages, durian and iron products, the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) said in a statement.

China is Malaysia’s largest trading partner.

Malaysia’s exports to China totaled nearly $48 billion last year, though it declined 9.1% in the first two months of 2023, MATRADE said.

During his visit, Anwar witnessed the signing of trade agreements between Malaysian and Chinese businesses, it added.

China will invest an estimated $38.6 billion in Malaysia, including in the petrochemical and automotive industries, Anwar told parliament earlier this week, without specifying a timeframe.

($1 = 4.3940 ringgit)

(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Martin Petty)