PARIS, FRANCE - Captains of industry in France are planning to continue investing in Malaysia because its political stability makes it an attractive destination.

Technip president Bernard Di Tullio said such stability was a key attraction as it ensured business viability.

The company is a global player in engineering, technologies and project management.

Di Tullio's Technip has invested an additional '130mil (RM650mil) to set up a factory in Malaysia. The plant is near completion.

This was on top of the regional office it had set up in Kuala Lumpur since the company started its Malaysian investment in 1982.

Di Tullio believed policies outlined in the proposed New Economic Model (NEM) would further attract foreign investors.

Di Tullio was among 20 participants in a roundtable discussion with Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday.

'And (the proposed) corporatisation of Mida (Malaysian Industrial Development Authority) will certainly make the body extra efficient,' he added.

IGNA chief executive officer Jean-Paul Moisan said he was seriously looking into providing pork DNA detection services to complement Malaysia's Halal Hub.

IGNA specialises in DNA testing for detection of animal origins and forensic science fingerprinting.

'I will be in Malaysia within the next week or two to carry out a preliminary survey,' he said.

Moisan said that if not for Mida's explanation on business opportunities, he would have never regarded Malaysia as an investment destination.

'In fact, Malaysia would likely be our first offshore investment,' he added.

Muhyiddin said the current focus was on attracting quality investments to boost high technology, capital-intensive, high value-added and skills-intensive operations.

'Our priority sectors are advanced electronics, ICT (information, communications and technology), machinery and equipment, biotechnology, medical devices and renewable energy,' he said.

Muhyiddin said France was Malaysia's fourth largest trading partner in the EU.