KUALA LUMPUR: The United Kingdom’s new High Commissioner to Malaysia, Ajay Sharma, has made strengthening bilateral cooperation a key priority, with a particular focus on the fast-growing semiconductor sector and the development of integrated chip design and advanced manufacturing.
He said the British government is keen to strengthen linkages and exchange ideas to increase the value chain in both countries in the semiconductor industry and the manufacture of high-end chips.
This aligns with Malaysia’s ambitions under the National Semiconductor Strategy to transition from outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing to high-end manufacturing and niche capabilities such as integrated circuit design.
“We have seen a Malaysian company invest in a new compound semiconductor facility in Wales,” he said, referring to SMD Semiconductor, a Sarawak state-owned firm that recently opened a research and development innovation hub in Newport, an industrial port city in Wales.
“Therefore, I really want to work with Malaysia on the semiconductor industry. Malaysia is already involved in different parts of the value chain, and we can complement and learn from each other,” he told Bernama after appearing on Bernama TV’s The Nation programme recently.
Sharma, who succeeded Ailsa Terry, previously served in Iran, Qatar, Turkey, Moscow and Paris.
He also sees potential for a UK-Malaysia partnership in offering specialised courses on semiconductors and chip design in British universities, where a significant number of Malaysian students pursue higher education.
“We can also collaborate with local universities to bring Malaysian talent to the UK and set up courses here. Then we could see these courses develop and expand to Malaysia as well,” he said.
He also highlighted clean energy as an area for increased bilateral cooperation, in which Malaysia has immense potential and where Britain could play a supporting role.
“Malaysia has huge natural resources, immense opportunities in clean energy and is working on significant development on carbon capture, green tech and energy transition. Malaysia also has creative and innovative technologies which can be used in our universities, labs and expanded into businesses.
“This interests me to try to get more investments from both countries in this sector as well,” said Sharma.
Sharma said he is keen to boost two-way investments, especially Malaysian investments in the UK, citing successful ventures such as the Battersea Power Station redevelopment, YTL’s Brabazon project in Bristol, and contributions in sectors ranging from water utilities like Wessex Water to power generation.
At the same time, he aims to raise awareness among UK companies about business opportunities in Malaysia.
“Companies in the UK do not know much about the opportunities here in Malaysia, and we need to raise the profile to generate business interest.
“So, that is a key area that I would like to fix under my leadership,” said Sharma, who stressed this is even more important with Malaysia being a key market for economic growth in the Asean region.
With UK-Malaysia trade worth £6 billion (RM34.8 billion), the potential for increased trade is huge.
“We should be doing much more in many areas, such as tech development, which affects everything from healthcare to life sciences to defence manufacturing. We need to work on these and not be limited to areas we have focused on in the past,” said Sharma.
He said the UK expects vast new opportunities following its accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on Dec 15 last year, becoming the first European nation to join the pact.
The CPTPP now includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
With a combined population of 580 million and accounting for 15.6% of global gross domestic product, the CPTPP is the world’s fourth-largest free trade bloc.
Sharma noted that the global trading system is under considerable strain, with questions raised about the World Trade Organisation’s ability to manage challenges, even before the protectionist measures introduced by the United States.
“We really need to find ways to ensure cooperation between our countries to support free trade flows and growth, which is the main reason we were keen to join the CPTPP.
“We must ensure the trade administration process is as simple as possible. I wouldn’t want people to miss out on a great trade arrangement simply because the process for applying for exemptions, etc, is too complicated or too onerous,” he said.
The UK government, he added, is working closely with businesses to help them take full advantage of the CPTPP, including through cost savings and improved market access.
“As a government, we are working with businesses to make sure they take advantage of these (CPTPP) opportunities,” he said. – Bernama
