It is also seeking to attract investments from Malaysia especially in value-added downstream oil palm activities, Peruvian Ambassador to Malaysia, Alejandro Gordillo Fernandez, told Malaysian news agency Bernama in an interview Sunday.

Fernandez said Peruvian president Alan García Pérez aims to impress that his country is a top-notch investment centre at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)'s 16th summit and during official and private sector meetings.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak will lead the Malaysian delegation to the APEC Leaders' Meeting on Nov 22 -23 while International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will attend the trade and economics ministerial meeting prior to that.

Incidentally, Peru became a member of APEC in 1998 when Malaysia hosted the forum's summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Fernandez said firms investing in Peru would not only automatically become a 100 percent Peruvian company, but could also gain access to the larger Andean community trade grouping which has a consumer base of 130 million people.

Besides banking on a wide mineral base such as copper, gold, silver lead and tin, Peru has bright prospects for petroleum firms to exploit crude oil reserves both onshore and offshore, Fernandez said.

Foreign investors could also look for opportunities in the construction, manufacturing, trade and services sectors which have been the most buoyant in the domestic market, he said.

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