It is short for the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road. Supporters of the initiative were quick to point out that the BRI would be able to help bring down trade barriers while increasing opportunities for local players on a global scale, but on the hand, its naysayers question whether or not the complex endeavour would be able to navigate through the immense number of political, socio-economic, financial and logistical issues it faces. Infrastructure-related development sectors. While this does help quell some concerns of the BRI, the research report highlighted that our labour market would be our biggest risk due to our dependence on foreign workers. While majority of the recent infrastructure development projects falling under BRI umbrella have been clinched by Chinese-national companies, reports have noted that provisions put into place by our federal government require that a certain percentage of sub-contracting job packages be awarded to Malaysian companies. China’s Belt and Road: What’s in it for Malaysia. These will bring in the next wave of Chinese investors, which will primarily be in the manufacturing and services sectors. “Over the short-to-medium term, foreign companies are likely to have to import skilled or specialist workers for their Malaysian operations, which will significantly raise production costs,” they explained. China has embarked on one of the most ambitious and expensive infrastructure projects ever undertaken. These agreements were mostly trade based and boasted a total value of US$7.22 billion or RM31.26 billion. In 2012 to 2014, major Chinese property developers such as Country Garden, R&F Properties and Greenland Group bought up large strategic landbanks in the region. In a research report by Midf Amanah Investment Bank Bhd, its research arm shared that it expects China Railway Construction Corp Ltd (CRCC) to clinch a RM450 million to expand Sultan Ismail Petra Airport (SIPA) which is in dire need of expansion as the airport, which is the last stop of the ECRL, has already exceeded its capacity of 1.45 million passengers annual. The 500-acre site is 10 minutes away from the city centre and is one of the biggest land parcels for development in prime Kuala Lumpur. On Jan 14, I attended a conference in Johor Baru organised by the Johor Bahru Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and had the opportunity to interact with several mainland Chinese managers and leaders from the private sector who are active in Malaysia. It will also cover many developing countries, advocating equality and cooperation for mutual benefit and in pursuit of a common destiny,” they said. “Qualified Chinese financial institutions and companies are encouraged to issue bonds in both RMB and foreign currencies in these countries, and to use locally raised funds locally in countries along the B&R,” reported the ACCA-SSE report. He can be contacted at ryan.khoo@alphamarketingsg.com. President Xi Jinping has championed what China formally calls the “One Belt, One Road” or OBOR, initiative to build a new Silk Road linking Asia, Africa and Europe, a landmark program to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure projects including railways, ports and power grids. The initiative also seeks to increase the purchasing power of locals in various countries and diversify China’s export markets. Liow said Malaysia must take an optimistic approach and understand future strategic benefits of implementing the Belt and Road … Malaysia was one of the most prominent skeptics of China’s Belt-and-Road investments last year. Private Chinese firms have also taken an interest in participating in the Melaka Gateway project. Prime Minister Najib Razak agreed in principle to support China for the Maritime Silk Road at the Boao Forum for Asia 2015—the Maritime Silk Road will establish ties between Malaysia and China’s Guangdong Province in the country’s southeast. The Chinese initiated One Road One Belt (OBOR) may turn out to bring economic benefits, as promised by the initiators of this grand scheme. Najib said the ‘One Belt One Road Initiative’ would derive massive benefits to Malaysia in terms of excellent infrastructure, connectivity, social facilities, better living standards and abundant business opportunities. The "one belt, one road initiative"(OBOR) and the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB) are providing the policy framework and the funding to boost infrastructure projects, free-trade areas and agreements . And to attest to this, an excerpt from Najib’s personal blog showcases our government’s willingness to participate further in the BRI. In order to achieve this, the ACCA-SSE recommends that countries along the BRI routes and should actively plan ways of connecting their infrastructure and bring technical standards into line, working together to build international passageways. During a state visit in November, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged to buy Malaysian government bonds, which have been hit by foreign selling as crude oil prices have been falling since late 2014 and by the1MDB crisis in 2015. First announced in 2013, One Belt One Road, also referred to as Belt Road Initiative (BRI), represents a resurrection of the ancient trade routes known as the Silk Road, which connected China with the economies of nearly 70 other countries across several continents. The massive BRI project was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. Currently, the prospects of China’s ‘One Belt One Road Initiative’ (hereinafter referred to as OBOR) are dim. “The China-Asean Interbank Association and SCO Interbank Association will carry out multilateral cooperation in the form of syndicated loans and bank credit. Rather than the traditional method of importing raw materials and producing in China, the initiative seeks to shift certain industries to outside of China and play a bigger role in the production chain by providing infrastructure and services to enable this. Melaka Gateway has been earmarked as a key port of call along this route. This should translate into various economic opportunities, which will unfold over the next decade, and ultimately, bring a favourable outcome for property assets in the region. But what about Malaysia specifically? According to Goh, majority of our industries and sectors all set to be beneficiaries of the BRI. The final weeks of 2015 were quite momentous in terms of the Chinese presence in Malaysia. Even without the BRI, the issue of our foreign worker dependence has been ongoing debate for many years now as companies complain about labour shortages and expensive foreign worker levies that would cut profit margins. High on the discussion list was China’s “One Belt, One Road” policy and its implications for Malaysia and Iskandar Malaysia. In a report jointly written by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), entitled ‘Belt and Road Initiative: Reshaping Global Value Chain’, there are key five aspects that are driving motivation for the implementation of the BRI, namely, policy coordination, connecting infrastructure, promoting unimpeded trade, financial integration and fostering people-to-people bonds. Iskandar Malaysia, being the earliest beneficiary of Chinese investments, is a step ahead in terms of development progress. As the recipient of more than US$200 billion worth of Chinese infrastructure and real estate investment, Malaysia is fast becoming the principal ASEAN partner in China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative. Road” when addressing the Indonesian Parliament. In the past this has created an unequal relationship where developing countries found themselves to be highly dependent on developed countries. “This means making improvements to – or entirely new construction of – transportation infrastructure, energy infrastructure, and cross-border cable and other communications networks.”. Thus, boosting greatly boosting our infrastructure-related development sector. In Singapore, we remember China’s investments in Malaysia most clearly through Iskandar Malaysia. “The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation has an emphasis on mutual discussion, mutual construction and mutual sharing. In a risk assessment report from the Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd, operational risk of BRI in Malaysia is among one of the lowest in all 65 nations involved. While it is clear that the main beneficiaries of the BRI are meant to be majority of the developing world, the ACCA and SSE want to make it clear that the initiative is not meant the replace the existing regional cooperation mechanism. Beyond just growing our economy, Goh also anticipates that our ringgit will see more demand due to the encouraged use of local currencies in the BRI instead of major currencies such as the US dollar. It seeks to boost efficiency in the flow of production and integration of markets to achieve diversified, independent, balanced and sustainable development. ... how to reap benefits … Required fields are marked *. Singapore’s Land Transport Authority and Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Commission have received strong response on the development options for the HSR, as evidenced by their recent request for information, which saw worldwide interest. However, if successful, the BRI’s impact will challenge the status quo of the current economic order as majority of its two routes run through developing countries. The proposed upgrades at the moment for SIPA include an apron expansion, enlargement of runway/taxiways, and the construction of new terminals such as contact pier finger terminals. It was also the biggest step forward for the financial sector between China and Malaysia since April 2015, when Malaysia became the second country in Asean (after Singapore) to have a renminbi clearing centre. Furthermore,   the transfer of more economic clout toward developing countries will also help to solve some certain aspects of international trade that is not equitable. China’s One Belt, One Road initiative has one key feature, which is to develop industrial capacity and demand outside China. While China has portrayed the New Silk Road as a genuine effort to share the bounty of China’s economic development and to fund infrastructure gaps, many Western countries are concerned about a lack of detail and transparency in the project and are suspicious about China’s broader political intents. Still, at a time of uncertainty about the US place in the world following President Donald Trump’s pledges to put America first, China sees an opportunity to become more of a global leader and has found a receptive audience for its New Silk Road. The Belt and Road Initiative encompasses 64 countries across Eurasia and Africa, which account for 43.4% of the world In Malaysia, observers have noted that this impact of unimpeded trade between China has already begun with the anticipated doubling of our annual pineapple export to China to RM320 million by 2020, following the signing of the protocol on phytosanitary requirement in Beijing during the BRF. 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