Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia has an open economy and has established relations with all countries, Bernama reported.

“Southeast Asia is neutral, has good demographics, and a growing, stable and peaceful economy,” he was quoted as saying during an Astro Awani programme titled “Tech War, Tesla, and Investment Magnet” on Tuesday.

“Malaysia and Singapore are two countries that have been involved in the semiconductor sector for a long time – Malaysia is over 50 years old and we have a good ecosystem, almost complete and mature.

“So, that’s one of the reasons we see investment also increasing in this sector.”

Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia’s strong investment inflows were reflected in recent data showing approved investments of RM83.7 billion in various fields in the first quarter, marking a 13% increase from RM74.1 billion in the same period last year.

“We expect the gross domestic product to grow 5.8% in the second quarter of 2024, with the manufacturing sector expanding by 4.7%, boosted by the electrical and electronics sector, especially semiconductors,” he said.

In terms of trade, he said, Malaysia has signed 16 free trade agreements (FTAs), including both multilateral and bilateral agreements like the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

“We have various FTAs with all groups, for example, BRICS, which is not an economic bloc but a grouping that discusses global south issues,” he said.

“We are also together with the US in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Currently, we are looking at starting discussions with the European Union on the Malaysia-EU Free Trade Agreement.”