Bloomberg says Malaysia’s King, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, is seeking funding from Chinese investors for a high-speed rail project connecting Malaysia and Singapore.
The portal says the King is looking to attract investments from a Chinese state-owned company during his four-day state visit to China, which began on September 19. This visit aims to strengthen strategic ties, in line with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.
HSR Project
Sultan Ibrahim’s delegation includes representatives from YTL Corporation, one of three shortlisted groups for the project. The Malaysian government revived the rail link initiative in 2023, emphasizing it will not be taxpayer-funded.
Bloomberg also says a private consortium could finance and operate the HSR rail link for 30 years before returning it to the government. While officials from Malaysia’s national palace, YTL, and the Transport Ministry did not comment, the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs highlighted the strong bilateral relations between Malaysia and China.