Taiwan invests in Malaysia

Taiwan invests in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Taiwanese companies invested $160.5 million in 26 projects in Malaysia in this year's first six months, signaling growing business links between the countries despite the absence of diplomatic ties.

Six of the projects, worth $13 million, were new while the others were expansions or diversifications of existing projects, Malaysian Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz said in Taipei Monday, the domestic news agency, Bernama, reported.

The report gave no comparative figures for 1997.

"The continued interest of Taiwanese investors in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors is a testimony of their confidence in the investment climate in Malaysia," she said at a meeting with businesses in the Taiwanese capital.

Investments were mostly in manufacturing, aquaculture and floriculture, she said.

Malaysia was the largest recipient of Taiwanese foreign direct investment in the first quarter of 1998, accounting for 23 percent of all Taiwanese investments in Asean member countries, Bernama said, quoting a Taiwan government report.