An overview of the National Economic Forum 2024 of Malaysia. — VNA/VNS Photo

KUALA LUMPUR — There is plenty of room for Việt Nam and Malaysia to promote cooperation in new areas such as digital transformation, semiconductor, artificial intelligence and electric vehicle (EV) production thanks to their supplementary strengths, according to Trade Counsellor to Malaysia Lê Phú Cường.

Việt Nam has great advantages in high-quality human resources, while Malaysia is strong in electrical and electronic production and semiconductors, but has a shortage of people due to limited population structure, Cường told a Vietnam News Agency representative reporter based in Kuala Lumpur at Malaysia’s National Economic Forum 2024 on Thursday.

The official said that if Việt Nam cooperates with Malaysia,  it can reduce research costs and gain valuable experience from the host country which now has high-quality electrical and electronics manufacturing infrastructure after three decades of continuous development.

Malaysia has the third largest auto industry in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and Thailand. This sector contributes about 4 per cent to Malaysia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2021, he noted.

Malaysia has offered incentives to attract investment to EV production and assembly, including income tax exemptions of 70-100 per cent in 5-10 years for EV manufacturers and assembling firms, income tax subsidies of 60-100 per cent for a period of 5-10 years and up to a 100 per cent exemption of import duty and excise tax for EV and up to 85 per cent exemption for plug-in hybrid EV.

Major EV manufacturers such as Tesla, BYD, MINI, BMW, and GWM are already present in Malaysia, Cường said, stressing that if Việt Nam takes advantage of the opportunity and cooperates with Malaysia in producing components or assembling charging stations, it can fast track development in the industry.

Meanwhile, Raja Badrulnizam from the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) said that the Malaysian economy grew last year despite global tensions and geopolitical instability. He attributed this to the Malaysian Government’s prompt reaction to support markets, especially those related to promoting export activities and attracting investment.

He said that promoting trade activities will be the main focus of the country in the near future. Malaysia needs to seek new markets and strengthen promotion of its products, he said, adding that Việt Nam is one of the potential markets. — VNS