SHAH ALAM, Dec 7 — The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) is cautiously optimistic of Malaysia surpassing the export growth target of five per cent this year as indicated by the current figures.

Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Dr Ong Kian Meng said Miti was still monitoring the situation for unanticipated events which might affect the target, particularly the US-China trade war.

"For now we are cautiously optimistic that we could exceed the target. The export (especially) of electrical and electronics (products) is growing very strong, supported by companies like Panasonic which leads the way in pushing it to a higher level.

"This is despite the slower export in the commodity sector," he told reporters on the sidelines of the 50th anniversary of Panasonic Manufacturing in Malaysia and the centennial celebration of Panasonic Group, here today. 

Also present was Selangor Menteri Besar Amiruddin Shari.

Ong said even though the weaker ringgit helped lift Malaysia’s exports, the government did not want to rely on the weakness of the local note as it could also increase the costs of importing intermediate materials.

Meanwhile, Amiruddin said Selangor was confident of meeting the target of RM7 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) this year on the back of Malaysia’s healthy investment environment and development.

He noted that investment sentiment was slightly dampened during the general election campaigning period and polls in May due to political uncertainties but the investor confidence level had since improved and the rate of investment was picking up.

"We are monitoring closely the FDI inflow into the state, and noticed that it was also slightly impacted by the US-China trade war.

"However, the state government would continue to look for more investment opportunities, particularly in the services industry, leveraging on its excellent logistics facilities,” he said.

Selangor is also in the midst of rearranging and re-coordinating its development plan and roadmap by clustering the industries to strengthen its existing assets, he added. — Bernama