China committed to investing RM170 billion in Malaysia, says Anwar

China will invest an estimated RM170.07 billion (US$38.64 billion) in Malaysia, including in the petrochemical and automotive industries, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday.

Rongsheng Petrochemical Co Ltd will invest an estimated RM80 billion in a petrochemical refinery in southern Malaysia, Anwar said in parliament.

Automaker Geely will invest RM2 billion initially and later ramp that up to RM32 billion, he said.

Anwar, who was on an official visit to China last week, did not give a time frame for the total investment commitments.

The prime minister also said he discussed with China reducing Asia's dependency on the US dollar.

Bank Negara Malaysia is working on an initiative to allow Kuala Lumpur and China to conduct trade using the ringgit and renminbi, he said.

"There is no reason for a country like Malaysia to continue to depend on the US dollar," Anwar said.

Anwar said he proposed setting up an "Asian Monetary Fund" at the Boao Forum in China last week, and in a bilateral meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed the idea to be discussed further.