Kuala lumpur: Taiwan has urged the Malaysian government to initiate negotiations to update the Malaysia-Taiwan Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) signed in 1993 to reflect today's evolving global investment landscape. Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia, Dr. Lien Yu-Ping, highlighted that the current BIA, which has been in place for more than 30 years, comprises only 10 provisions and lacks updates necessary for today's investment needs.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Dr. Lien emphasized the necessity for modern protections, such as those for intellectual property rights and technology transfer, which are absent in the existing agreement. She noted that the global investment environment has significantly changed, particularly with the large-scale relocation of supply chains as companies expand overseas with their ecosystem partners. Dr. Lien argued that to attract more Taiwanese investments, a more robust legal framework for investment protection is needed.
Dr. Lien explained that an updated BIA would help modernize Malaysia's legal investment framework and attract high-end Taiwanese technology investments. She pointed out that countries like Vietnam and Indonesia have successfully attracted Taiwanese companies by offering strong incentives and updating their bilateral investment agreements with Taiwan. She cited examples of how Taiwanese investments in countries like the Philippines and Vietnam doubled or even tripled after updating their BIAs.
According to Lien, Taiwan has already begun discussions on renewing the BIA through the Malaysia-Taiwan Economic Cooperation framework. This involves engagements between Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Malaysia's Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry at the director-general level. However, she stressed the need for higher-level engagement to effectively tackle broader investment-related issues, such as labor and working visa matters. Dr. Lien expressed confidence that Taiwan could bring advanced technologies and help establish a comprehensive ecosystem and industrial cluster in Malaysia, positioning both countries strongly in future high-tech development.
Last year, Taiwan-Malaysia bilateral trade reached US$57.4 billion, marking a 32.3 percent increase compared to the previous year. Taiwan is now Malaysia's fourth-largest trading partner and seventh-largest source of foreign direct investment, creating more than 470,000 jobs in Malaysia. The Taiwan Smart Solutions Connect 2026 event, organized by the Taiwan International Trade Administration (TITA) and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), showcased 26 of Taiwan's most innovative tech enterprises. These companies focus on smart manufacturing and industrial artificial intelligence, smart city and sustainable energy, digital transformation and enterprise AI, and smart healthcare and wellness.