Taiwan Seeks Negotiations To Update 1993 Bilateral Investment Agreement With Malaysia

By Durratul Ain Ahmad Fuad

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 (Bernama) -- Taiwan has urged the Malaysian government to initiate negotiations to update the Malaysia-Taiwan Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) signed in 1993 to reflect today’s evolving global investment landscape.

Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia Dr Lien Yu-Ping said the BIA, which has been in place for more than 30 years, contains only 10 provisions and has not been updated to reflect current investment needs.

“When we are talking about the supply chain movement, there is a need to protect the intellectual property rights and technology transfer. 

“But in the old BIA, we cannot find any protection regarding this. Another example, if our company wants to inject their capital from a third country, this kind of investment is also not protected in the old BIA,” she told Bernama at the Taiwan Smart Solutions Connect 2026 here today. 

Lien said the global investment environment has changed significantly, with supply chain relocations now occurring on a much larger scale as companies expand overseas together with their ecosystem partners.

Hence, she said that to attract more Taiwanese investment, a more robust legal framework for investment protection is urgently needed. 

Lien said an updated BIA would not only help modernise Malaysia’s legal investment framework but also attract more high-end Taiwanese technology investments.

“Nowadays, a lot of countries are inviting Taiwanese companies to invest, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, where they offer strong incentives and have already updated their bilateral investment agreements with Taiwan.

“For example, after we updated our BIA with the Philippines and Vietnam, we saw Taiwanese investment in those countries double or even triple,” she said. 

According to Lien, Taiwan has already begun discussions on renewing the BIA through the Malaysia-Taiwan Economic Cooperation framework, involving engagements between Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Malaysia’s Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry at the director-general level.

However, she said a higher-level engagement is necessary to effectively address broader investment-related issues, including labour and working visa matters.

“We think the level is not enough. The discussions should be elevated to a higher official level because these issues also involve other ministries.

“If we can raise the level of engagement (meeting), it would be very helpful,” she added. 

She also expressed confidence that Taiwan could bring advanced technologies (tech) and help establish a comprehensive ecosystem and industrial cluster in Malaysia. 

“Malaysia can work hand-in-hand with Taiwan to secure a strong position in future high-tech development,” she said.

Last year, Taiwan-Malaysia bilateral trade reached US$57.4 billion (US$1=RM3.92), or a 32.3 per cent increase, compared to the previous year. 

Taiwan is now Malaysia’s fourth-largest trading partner and seventh-largest source of foreign direct investment, creating more than 470,000 jobs in Malaysia.

Taiwan Smart Solutions Connect 2026, organised by the Taiwan International Trade Administration (TITA) and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), today brought together 26 of Taiwan’s most innovative tech enterprises.

The 26 Taiwanese companies focus on four key areas, namely smart manufacturing and industrial artificial intelligence (AI); smart city and sustainable energy; digital transformation and enterprise AI; and smart healthcare and wellness.

-- BERNAMA