Malaysia relaxed restrictions on foreign automakers manufacturing small and eco-friendly passenger vehicles as Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy competes with Thailand for investments.
Malaysia will selectively seek foreign investments that bring advanced technology and offer customised incentives to attract companies, according to M. Madani Sahari, chief executive officer of the Malaysia Automotive Institute, a unit of the trade ministry. Under the previous policy, the licenses only allowed for the manufacture of vehicles that had engines 1.8 litres or bigger, he said.
“This is a big deal because previously we didn’t issue any licenses” for the manufacture of small cars, Madani, whose unit was involved in drafting the government policy, told reporters in Kuala Lumpur last week.
Effective immediately, the new policy further opens up national maker Proton Holdings Bhd to foreign competition. The drive to attract global automakers also comes at a time when neighbor Thailand is mired in political protests aimed at ousting Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s government.
Thailand’s unrest may hurt new investments as investors consider other countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam, Kyoichi Tanada, president of Toyota Motor Corp’s Thai unit, told reporters in Bangkok today.
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“By focusing on energy-efficient vehicles, we are also at the same time making Malaysia a centre for excellence in technology.
M. Madani Sahari, chief executive officer of the Malaysia Automotive Institute
Trio Talk
“For those who are here, we won’t flee,” Tanada said. “But we are not sure whether we will raise our investment.”
Malaysia is in talks with three foreign manufacturers for fuel-efficient cars, International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today, without naming them. As many as four permits may be awarded by 2018, the minister said.
The changes will help promote a “competitive and sustainable domestic automotive industry, including the national automotive companies,” said Mustapa.
Tan Chong Motors Holdings Bhd, a distributor of Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Renault SA (RNO) vehicles in Malaysia, rose 0.2 per cent to close at 5.60 ringgit in Kuala Lumpur. DRB-Hicom Bhd. (DRB), the owner of Proton, climbed 0.7 per cent and MBM Resources Bhd. increased 0.9 percent, while the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index dropped 0.3 per cent.
“Proton does not lose out on the incentives under the National Automotive Policy, while bracing itself for further liberalisation,” Thomas Soon, an analyst at AMMB Holdings Bhd, said in an e-mailed report today. He maintained a buy rating and fair value of 3.65 ringgit for its parent DRB.
Green Vehicles
Malaysia wants to position itself as a manufacturing hub for energy-efficient vehicles to differentiate the country from Thailand, where foreign automakers have invested to produce pick-up trucks and other vehicles, Madani said.
“By focusing on energy-efficient vehicles, we are also at the same time making Malaysia a centre for excellence in technology,” he said.
Vehicle prices may fall in Malaysia by as much as 30 per cent by the end of 2018 as a result of local production by global automakers and other government initiatives, he said.
Sales of passenger and commercial vehicles rose 4.9 per cent to 595,300 units in the 11 months ended November, according to the Malaysian Automotive Association. That’s faster than the 2.7 per cent pace in the year-earlier period.
The government is seeking to attract automakers that have yet to establish major manufacturing facilities in Southeast Asia for passenger cars, including Volkswagen AG, Renault SA, Hyundai Motor Co, Fiat SpA and some Chinese companies, according to Madani.
