00:00To begin, we would like to invite YB7 to the stage.
00:05Pleasure. Right now, for steel and aluminum, we have a moratorium on any new plants or expansion of steel and aluminum.
00:13We feel there is already overcapacity in the country.
00:17And therefore, whatever happens in the US, we are not a major exporter to steel and aluminum.
00:25One of the biggest exports to the US is E&E. Export of steel and aluminum is really insignificant.
00:30So I don't see any impact on that.
00:33Coming into ASEAN, and specifically Malaysia and certain sectors,
00:38with the whole US-China trade war, do you think this would put Malaysia in a position where Malaysia could also be under tariffs at one point in time?
00:52Are you concerned about that, with more Chinese companies coming here?
00:56We have Chinese companies coming to ASEAN and to Malaysia, Singapore as well, don't forget, and also Vietnam.
01:05ASEAN has been a net recipient of FDI coming from China and the US, despite the decline in global FDI.
01:13We've seen FDI into ASEAN being in a positive territory.
01:17Why is that? I think we've seen Trump 1.0, and then Biden, and now Trump 2.0.
01:23We've seen more flows coming in as companies realign their supply chain,
01:28sometimes mirroring geopolitics as we continue to live in this very multipolar world.
01:34So for Malaysia, we really believe in multilateralism.
01:38We believe in the platform that exists today.
01:40And ASEAN, as long as we continue to be neutral and we approach together,
01:46and that's why we talk a lot about ASEAN centrality, that's important.
01:50So for us, if you look at what are the concerns, if there are concerns that the US about technology,
01:59for example, some restriction on that, things that we are able to address,
02:07we have laws here in Malaysia and other ASEAN countries.
02:11As long as it's within the laws of the country,
02:16we will definitely continue to support investments from any countries, including China and the US.
02:22So to your question whether we're concerned about this tariff, I think the whole world is concerned about the tariff.
02:28We've seen what decision has been made in the neighboring countries, countries who are close to the US.
02:33We've seen the impact of decisions that have been made in China and some of the decisions also in other parts of the world.
02:43So for ASEAN, it's normal to expect that we may have to face the same,
02:49but what's important is we address some of that concerns and engage.
02:54I think that's going to be key going forward.
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