KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia, an enhanced strategic partner for India and a key collaborator for development and prosperity of the Global South, is an important partner in India’s ongoing growth trajectory, said Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia B.N. Reddy.
Bilateral investment linkages between the two countries have been strong and growing across an array of sectors, he said.
However, to forge an investment partnership for the next decade, Malaysia and India should foster stronger collaborations in key focus areas of renewable energy, semiconductors & electronics manufacturing, and startups.
Towards this effect, he said a two-day India Investment & Trade Promotion Roadshow 2024 is taking place from Tuesday (20 Feb) in Kuala Lumpur with a 20-member high-powered delegation from India comprising senior officials and industry leaders led by H.E. Mr. Rajesh Kumar Singh, Vice Minister of Commerce & Industry of India.
The investment Roadshow is being organised by Invest India, India’s National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency, in collaboration with the High Commission of India in Malaysia, Malaysia-India Business Council, Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers and Malaysian Semiconductor Industry Associations; and with active engagement of the Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry (MITI) of Malaysia, Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), and Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE).
Reddy expressed this in his article shared with BERNAMA titled ‘Towards intensifying India-Malaysia Investment Partnership for next decade: India Roadshow 2024 – Charting roadmap for future collaboration in bilateral investments’.
As India ranks fourth in global renewable energy installed capacity, and its ongoing endeavour to ensure sustainable and affordable energy access to 1.4 billion people, it opens up vast opportunities for Malaysian companies particularly in ramping India’s energy infrastructure.
They include key fields like solar rooftops, bio-fuels, Green Hydrogen, and Waste management (Biogas sector), he said.
Reddy said given this, renewable energy sector must figure prominently in India-Malaysia Investment mix.
He pointed out Malaysian companies are already realising the vast potential for investment collaboration in green energy field with India.
“Since 2019, through Gentari, Petronas’ engagement in India’s RE sector has steadily grown with Gentari’s acquisition of 30 per cent stake in India’s Greenko owned AM Green Ammonia Holdings BV to produce five million tonnes of green ammonia per annum by 2030.
“Gentari’s joining India’s ReNew Energy Global to collaborate on a 50:50 joint venture for 5 GW of renewable energy capacity. Gentari has also partnered with India’s Tata Motors and Gati on electrical mobility,” he said.
Reddy emphasised such models of collaborations need to be replicated and more and more Malaysian-Indian ventures in Green and renewable energy is the way forward.
Akin to the renewable energy sector, he pointed out electronics manufacturing sector and semiconductors is another key sector that holds vast potential for India-Malaysia collaboration.
Malaysia, with a strong E&E sector and 15 per cent of global back-end semiconductor value chain, can emerge as a strong partner for India on technological collaboration, capacity building and skill development.
He noted that the emphasis on electronics & semiconductors sector in Malaysia’s New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) fits well with India’s initiatives in this sector.
“A recent example of possible collaboration is setting up of India office at Bengaluru by Malaysia’s Infinecs- Penang-based company that offers electronics design services,” he said.
The start-up sector is the third key sector that must be a core focus area for enacting India-Malaysia partnership for next decade; though India and Malaysia have been collaborating in this field, it’s time to ramp this collaboration significantly.
Steps in this direction are already taking place with Startup India, India’s leading start-up promotion Agency, and Malaysia’s Cradle Fund now working together to set up India-Malaysia Startup Bridge. Malaysian companies and Khazanah are investing in India’s startups.
“For example, recently, Wow Momos, an Indian food chain company, secured US$42 million investment from Khazanah. Similarly, Indian startup unicorns such as Oyo rooms, Pine Labs, Razorpay and Ninacart have also increasingly been expanding its market into Malaysia.
With Malaysia Startup Ecosystem Roadmap (SUPER) 2021-2030 aiming at generating 5,000 startups by 2025, India and Malaysia can be natural partners for collaboration in start-up sector.
The Unity Government in Malaysia led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the Indian Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi have worked intensively to strengthen India-Malaysia Enhanced Strategic Partnership and create a further rich environment for greater investment and trade promotion.
Against this backdrop, the India Investment and Trade Promotion Roadshow in Kuala Lumpur is apt and timely, and provides an important event for charting roadmap on collaboration for the next decade in key areas such as renewable energy, semiconductors and electronics manufacturing. – Bernama