Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian investors, especially in the services sector, are encouraged to invest in Algeria, as the country is currently undergoing rapid infrastructure and industrial development.
International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir said Malaysian investors were welcomed to partake in the country’s housing, public works, agricultural and rural development, higher education, health and transportation sectors.
“The strategic reform initiatives under this plan will focus on improving and upgrading the Algerian quality of life, enhance sources of growth and ensure the sustainability of its economic growth.
“The Algerian government is also sincere in its interest to develop the country, and like in Malaysia, they are implementing the “people first concept,” he told reporters after officiating a business seminar on Algeria here yesterday.
Mukhriz said the Algeria Minister of Housing and Urban Planning has invited Malaysian companies to participate in housing and township development projects in Algeria as an two million houses were required by 2015.
“This indicates the goodwill and trust the Algerians have towards Malaysian capabilities.
“They have seen our products, of course not as cheap as in China and India, but they are of better quality than those countries, in fact, we can match European standards,” he added. Recently, the Algerian government announced a five-year investment Plan, between 2010 and 2014, under which US$286 billion has been allocated for infrastructure and industrial development programmes.
Mukhriz said the Algerian government has established mechanisms to revitalise investment financing, including the setting up of a National Investment Fund, various leasing facilities and the consolidation of credit guarantee funds for small-and-medium enterprises.
A Muslim country of 35 million people, Algeria provides an ideal investment location for Malaysian investors who can also tap into the Middle East, North Africa and European markets. — Bernama