Malaysia Poised To Capitalise On REE Opportunities Amid US-China Trade War - Chang

By Muhammad Adil Muzaffar Mohd Fisol

BANGI, April 24 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is positioning itself to become a key player in the rare earth elements (REE) value chain, amid a shifting geopolitical landscape and the ongoing trade war between the United States and China.

Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) Minister Chang Lih Kang said there is growing interest from both Western and Chinese investors to collaborate with Malaysia in the sector, underscoring the country’s strategic value and potential in rare earth processing.

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"They are very keen to work with us. President Xi Jinping has also explicitly stated that China will assist us in developing the processing technology.

"Everything is developing at the pace and in the direction that we would like to see," he told Bernama and RTM after appearing as a panellist on MOSTI’s Tech Talk programme at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) on Wednesday.

To facilitate industry development, Chang said the government is in the process of amending the Atomic Energy Licensing Act 1984 (Act 304), which currently limits industrial licences to three years, a timeframe he described as too short to support the sustainable growth of the REE industry.

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“One of the key amendments involves Section 16(6), which currently empowers the ministry to issue licences for only three years,” he said, adding that the amendments are expected to be tabled this year.

Chang emphasised the urgency of accelerating development in Malaysia’s midstream and upstream REE sectors.

"There is a need for us to accelerate its development because the window of opportunity is small. So, we need to harness whatever we have," he said.

Earlier in his talk, Chang said Malaysia has an estimated 16 million tonnes of unprocessed REE deposits, valued at over RM800 billion.

-- BERNAMA