Anwar: CPTPP a critical vehicle to expand investment, trade between Malaysia and UK

Friday 17 Jan 2025

LONDON (Jan 15): The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will be a critical vehicle to expand and facilitate investment and trade between Malaysia and the United Kingdom (UK).

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said this was made possible by the move by both countries to enter the trade agreement.

“In fact, I chose to express my appreciation to the UK premier for successfully entering the CPTPP. It takes serious political commitment on the part of the UK and Malaysia, focusing on economic fundamentals in the interest of both nations to promote free trade,” he said here on Wednesday.

Anwar was speaking at the launch of the YTL Group’s Brabazon New Town development in Bristol, the largest city in the South West of England.

Malaysia ratified the CPTPP in October 2024, joining Peru, Japan, Singapore, Chile, New Zealand and Vietnam in doing so, while the UK formally joined last December.

Under this framework, tariffs for products by member countries will be reduced to zero.

Anwar also praised YTL, which is the largest Malaysian investor in the UK, for its resilience and for continuing to make strides in the country.

YTL made its first investment in the UK in 2002, with the acquisition of Wessex Water.

The award-winning Bristol Brabazon development is set to transform the historic Filton Airfield site into a Copenhagen-inspired project that will allow people to access the essential services they need — workplaces, schools, shops, public transport, healthcare, and green spaces — within a 15-minute radius of their home.

Besides the 6,500 high-quality sustainable homes, it will also house three new schools and a new urban park, the largest to be built in the South West in over 50 years.

At the launch, YTL Group executive chairman Tan Sri Sir Francis Yeoh Sock Ping said YTL is committing to invest a further £4 billion (RM21.96 billion) into the UK over the next five years.

Anwar, who is here for a five-day working visit, said that by participating in overseas ventures, Malaysian businesses could deepen their global market ties, contributing to Malaysia’s aspirations of expanding its trade footprint through international frameworks, such as the CPTPP.

During the visit, Anwar is accompanied by Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, and Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.

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