This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on July 3, 2023 - July 9, 2023

LAST year, quite a number of Malaysians were surprised and delighted to learn that Tugu Negara, the national monument that honours the country’s fallen war heroes, was created by the late Austrian-born sculptor Felix de Weldon, who had a long-standing friendship with Malaysia’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj.

It started from an arranged meeting in 1960 after Tunku was impressed by de Weldon’s work on the US Marine Corps War Memorial (also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial) in Virginia, which depicts six marines raising the US flag atop Mount Suribachi during the battle of Iwo Jima, one of the most hard-fought victories in World War II. This led to a friendship that spanned more than five decades as the two instantly connected during the meeting.

The untold story of how Tunku met de Weldon, their lifelong friendship and how de Weldon also crafted Tunku’s statue in front of parliament — along with several bronze busts of Bapa Malaysia (as the late statesman was known) — was shared by de Weldon’s son Daniel during his visit to Malaysia last year at the start of “A Monumental Affair”, the Austrian Embassy-sponsored exhibition on the fascinating story of the Tugu Negara.

The exhibition was made possible in part because of Austrian ambassador to Malaysia Andreas Launer, formerly the Austrian consul general for the Western US based in Los Angeles. It was Launer who chanced upon the hitherto unknown connection from a curator friend of his in Los Angeles, shortly before Launer took up the diplomatic position here in August 2021.

Just as the Tugu Negara story illustrates, Launer believes not many Malaysians are aware of how deeply connected the two countries are, especially economically, since bilateral ties started in 1962, followed by the setting up of the Austrian embassy in Kuala Lumpur in 1973.

Today, more than 50 Austrian companies have a branch office in Malaysia, which Austria regards as its most important export market in Asean, ahead of Thailand and Singapore. They are active in the production, assembling and logistics sectors or maintain regional sales and maintenance centres for the Southeast Asian region, according to the Austrian embassy.

“There are a lot of low-key, low-profile investments that are not known to the public. These concern key sectors like energy, traffic management, public transport and health,” Launer tells The Edge in an interview.

Over the decades, Austrian companies have invested billions of dollars and created thousands of jobs in Malaysia. In 2021 alone, Austria was the country’s fourth-largest international investor, with flagship investments like semiconductor company AT&S’ RM8.5 billion manufacturing plant in Kedah’s Kulim Hi-Tech Park, its first such facility in Southeast Asia.

This was followed by AMS Osram’s decision in 2022 to embark on an €800 million expansion of its Kulim site to support advanced LED technologies and microLED manufacturing, alongside the €370 million plant it opened there four years ago. Before that, in the oil and gas sector, there was the joint venture between OMV AG and Sapura Energy Bhd via SapuraOMV.

And not forgetting Semperit AG’s investment here under Sempermed — one of the world’s oldest manufacturers of rubber products and a major European glove maker — that started in 2012 with the €150 million acquisition of Latexx Partners. In April 2022, Sempermed celebrated the successful €21 million expansion of its P7 plant in Kamunting, Perak.

There is also Andritz AG, Austria’s industrial equipment supplier and leading provider of services for hydropower stations that has helped Tenaga Nasional Bhd build over a dozen hydropower plants in Peninsular Malaysia. It is now building a major hydropower plant in Nenggiri, Kelantan, says Launer.

Then, there are Doppelmayr and Vamed. Doppelmayr is a renowned Austrian manufacturer of ropeways and people movers that took on the Langkawi Cable Car project as well as the upgrading of the Penang Hill Funicular Railway. It was recently announced as partner for Hartasuma Sdn Bhd, which won the design-finance-build-operate-and-transfer contract for the new cable car project in Penang Hill.  

Meanwhile, Vamed, the Austrian provider of hospitals and other facilities in the healthcare sector, was involved in the operational set-up of medical facilities here such as the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur, says Launer.

In terms of trade, data from the Austrian Statistics Bureau show that the country exported €561.4 million of goods and services to Malaysia in 2022, up 13% from 2021, and imported €643.9 million worth from Malaysia, up 17.7% in the same period. That puts the trade volume between the two countries at €1.2 billion in 2022.

“If you count in terms of employment, I dare say Austrian companies, combined, probably make up one of the most important foreign employers in the country. If you add Osram, which employs 6,000 to 7,000 people, to AT&S’ (planned) 5,000 to 6,000 workforce, along with all the others, it would not be a stretch to say there aren’t many companies from one country, in terms of foreign investments, that employ so many people here,” says Launer.

After nearly two years in Malaysia, the ambassador has found that there continues to be a lot of interest from Austrian companies wanting to set up shop here, which shows how competitive Malaysia is.

“This might also be true for other countries in the region, like Vietnam, where activity is picking up and from which there is increasing competition. But ultimately, it’s a combination of factors that lead to a certain investment decision,” Launer notes, adding that it is all about how business partners can complement each other.

“I said this at the groundbreaking ceremony of AT&S’ plant — the decision to invest so much money is also a declaration of trust, that they [investing companies] trust in Malaysia and believe in its economic future. It’s a great compliment [from us].”

On the challenges faced here, Launer acknowledges that the supply of skilled workers is one of the main challenges but observes this is not unique to Malaysia.

“It’s also a challenge to find a qualified workforce in Europe, so we’re all fighting these problems. It seems to be a global problem, not just in Malaysia,” he points out.

Apart from that, Launer says Malaysians have continued to prove to be excellent partners — “It’s about how we complement each other” — and a very stable country, even during its recent bout of political uncertainty.

“I came here in August 2021, when it was a little turbulent politically. But when Austrian companies asked me about my opinion on Malaysia as an investment destination, I have always said it is a very stable country. It’s well developed and trustworthy, and beyond the political changes, you always have continuity in economic policies as far as international investments are concerned,” he adds.

Austrians, meanwhile, tend to be long-term partners. “We are here to stay. That’s our business culture — we build long-standing relationships of trust. In my conversations with business leaders in Malaysia and Austrian companies, this is something I always bring up. And I think there are many more fields to explore.”

Launer cites as examples areas such as renewable energy, recycling, digitalisation, flood mitigation and R&D. These are just some of the areas in which Austrian companies are good at and can offer their expertise to Malaysian partners, he says.

“Not all Austrian companies that want to come here are big. Some are smaller, as small and medium enterprises make up the backbone of the Austrian economy. Malaysians are excellent partners, so they would like to form joint ventures to expand together to other Southeast Asian countries, leveraging local knowledge and successes in this region,” says Launer.

He also thinks that both countries, while geographically far apart, have many similarities. “We are relatively small countries, militarily not aligned in a very complex world, and have been working in international security, politics and other areas,” he says.

“We would like to expand cooperation with Malaysia on all fronts. And in my meetings with some Malaysian ministers — economy, natural resources, unity — I sense a great openness and appreciation for the importance of international cooperation to tackle the problems we are facing as an international community.”

Launer acknowledges, however, that there are not many Malaysian investments in Austria as the country has not really been on our radar screen as an investment destination.

The Payer Group is so far the biggest investment by a Malaysian company in Austria, says the ambassador. Originally a men’s shaver company owned by the Payer family from Bratislava, Payer was acquired by Philips Austria in the 1990s and in 2002, was bought over by Malaysian company Hui, which wants to turn it into a manufacturing partner of everyday household products with bases in Europe and Asia. The Payer Group recently opened its new Malaysian site in Sungai Petani, Kedah, as part of the diversification of its supply chain in Asia.

“We [Malaysia and Austria] have come quite far in our relationship in the past decades, particularly economically. Now that we’re celebrating our 61st year [of bilateral relationship] and the 50th year of our embassy here, I hope Malaysians will discover Austria as a business location, as much as Austrians have discovered Malaysia as one. I think there are a lot of things that can be explored,” says Launer. 

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