Malaysia eyes Japan projects

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PETALING JAYA: As more Japanese firms in China pack their bags and shift their focus to South-East Asia, the battle to entice these potential investors has turned fiercer, especially for Malaysia with the competition coming from low cost manufacturing countries in the region.

The fact that only four Japanese firms will be shifting their production base to Malaysia, in contrast to 15 companies to Vietnam following Japan’s recent decision to pay for the “China exodus”, raises concerns on whether Malaysia is losing its shine in the eyes of global investors - in this case, Japan.