KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia government is looking at the United States as a means of boosting investment to the country, Malaysia's Ambassador to the US Datuk Othman Hashim told reporters on Tuesday. He said Kuala Lumpur was hopeful that increased business discussion between the two countries would assist in developing Malaysia's economy in the years to come. “Even though there are many US companies in Malaysia, we want more American companies to invest in Malaysia,” he told the Malaysian media ahead of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's visit to New York. The ambassador said the PM will attend roundtable discussions with American business leaders to woo their investment to the Southeast Asian country. Among the companies the official Bernama news agency cited are Eastman Chemical, Global Consumer Insurance, Guardian Pharmacy, ConocoPhilips, Boeing and Citigroup. “The United States is one of the top foreign investors in Malaysia, so we want to increase the figures. We know there are a lot of opportunities for Malaysia and the United States to work together in this field,” he said. Othman said Malaysia was also pushing for an increase in trade with the United States eventhough trade between the two countries was now “very huge.” Total trade between the two countries last year was $36.33 billion, with the bilateral trade always in favor of Malaysia, he said. “We want to push trade figures to go up even further because the US is Malaysia's fourth largest trading partner and among Asean countries, imports from Malaysia is the biggest from the US. “So, if you look at the figures alone, it gives a good indication that the two countries have been working very well in this area,” he said.
