Trade group, consultant endorse investor visa plan

A chamber of commerce has cautioned against allowing the investor visa plan to go the way of other initiatives that never took off or were drastically altered. (Envato Elemets pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

A chamber of commerce and a business advisory consulting firm have given the thumbs up for an initiative to offer special six-month visas to foreign investors but pointed out that more details must be unveiled before its launch.

Donal Crotty, who heads the Irish Chamber of Commerce, said the details and actual implementation could determine if it will be successful, while Center for Market Education CEO Carmelo Ferlito noted the home ministry has yet to offer a clear definition of “investors”.

Crotty pointed out that any initiative aimed at making it easier for businessmen and prospective investors to enter Malaysia and invest in the country must be welcomed.

“(But) as in all schemes, the devil is in the details, the execution and the continuity. We have had many varying visa schemes in the past which have either never come to fruition or have been radically altered at a later date,” he told FMT.

“For example, the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, which began as a great scheme earning billions and bringing people to Malaysia, was destroyed in later iterations.

“The details are very important in terms of requirements to apply and the time to process. Making decisions on investment are about trust, viability and assurance of continuity in a five to 10-year window,” he added.

Nonetheless, Crotty said, such a visa would create a sense of interest and belonging for potential investors, by differentiating them from regular tourists.

He said mindsets were crucial in current times and that establishing the sense that a country welcomes and wants investors was very important.

“The first six months in any such scenario creates the foundation and belief which will drive one’s perspective of the country for the future.”

Crotty suggested that the government hold engagements with the expatriate business community and foreign chambers of commerce in Malaysia regarding the details of the scheme before launching it next month.

From April 1, foreign investors and businessmen entering Malaysia will be issued a new multiple-entry travel pass. The move is aimed at making it easier for foreigners who have committed investments here to enter the country.

The “investor pass” scheme will allow holders to remain in the country for six months, which can then be extended a further six months.

There is currently no specific travel pass for foreign investors, who are only given social visit passes valid for 14 to 90 days, depending on their country of origin.

Ferlito, who described the special visa as a step in the right direction, also stressed the need for appropriate responses from neighbouring countries.

“(For instance) Malaysia needs a simplified ecosystem for investments and any step in that direction is a step in the right direction,” he told FMT.

Separately, the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Eurocham) said an important factor that would ensure successful investments was the flexibility in which foreign businessmen could enter Malaysia.

Eurocham CEO Karl Godderis said this applied across the board, whether to short-term, project-related stays or medium to long-term periods in the country for foreign investors to anchor their investments.

“The European business community salutes any visa arrangements made to improve the transparency, speed and legal certainty related to short, medium and long-term professional deployment to Malaysia,” he said. - FMT