KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Major foreign investors remain committed to their expansion plans in Malaysia despite the US reciprocal tariffs imposed on the country, according to Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

“So far, the large ones — that we met and we discussed — have committed to continue with what [investment and expansion plans] they have made,” Zafrul told a press conference after the National Geoeconomic Action Council (NGCC) meeting with ministers on Monday.

However, some smaller foreign firms have expressed reservations, citing the need for greater clarity before proceeding with their plans, due to trade uncertainties from the US tariffs, the minister said, without disclosing the names of the companies.

“One cannot discount the fact that this will definitely affect the decisions of the companies, because like it or not, uncertainty does create challenges for the companies when they want to invest in the future,” he said.

Malaysia has attracted several foreign investments from giant technology companies over the past year, including Intel Corp's US$7 billion (RM30.89 billion) investment to expand its semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Penang, and Infineon Technologies AG's €7 billion (RM35.18 billion) investment to expand its plant in the Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Kedah.

Other investors, including Oracle Corp, Google LLC, Microsoft Corp and ByteDance Ltd, have announced multibillion-dollar investments in data centres and cloud infrastructure. 

YTL Power International Bhd (KL:YTLPOWR) and Nvidia Corp have also partnered on a US$4.3 billion project to develop artificial intelligence infrastructure, including Malaysia’s fastest supercomputers at YTL Power's data centre in Johor.

US President Donald Trump has now put on hold for 90 days his plans for an increase in reciprocal tariffs for all countries, except China. For now, all imports into the US will now be subjected to a baseline 10% duty, while goods from China would be charged a 125% levy.

The US previously imposed a 24% tariff on goods imported from Malaysia. However, some goods, such as semiconductors, will be exempted.

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