Passenger cars prices in Malaysia have always been perceived to be higher than those sold in the neighbouring ASEAN countries. “Undeniably, at a first glance of the sales prices comparisons of popular models the claim appeared to be true, except when compared to prices in Singapore, said Madani Sahari, CEO of the Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI)” Madani further elaborated that MAI has done comparative analysis of these popular models within the ASEAN countries. The price of Honda City and Toyota Vios of the 1500cc segment sold in Thailand are the cheapest in ASEAN, lower by 40% on average of the sales price in Malaysia. Similarly, the prices of these two marques in Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam are also lower by 32%, 2% and 1.8% on average respectively. Within the 1800 cc segment, the price of Honda Civic cheapest in Philippines, lower by 43%, while the prices of the model in Thailand and Vietnam are lower by 35% and 5% on average respectively. However, the price of...

 

Vladivostok, 5 September 2012- The Minister  of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamad, highlighted the importance of freer in ensuring food security and  reiterated Malaysia’s commitment to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) initiative to promote green growth and sustainable development. On food security, the APEC Ministers highlighted the need to ensure trade in agricultural products and food is facilitated through appropriate policy responses. They wanted to see greater collaboration to ensure  food security, including in intensified agricultural research, and sharing of best practices through the APEC Platform. In his intervention during the meeting, Dato’ Sri Mustapa stressed, “Agriculture and food security are high on the Malaysian agenda. Malaysia views that food production and trade in agricultural products can be further enhanced through the dismantling of market distorting measures in global agriculture trade.”...

Datuk Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, Secretary General, Ministry of International Trade and Industry AS the members of the Apec (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) delegation packed up to leave Russky Island, off Vladivostok, Russia, and police sirens signalled the departure of the leaders, another cycle of the Apec series of meetings drew to a close. But some questions were left in its wake. Was the gathering of the 21 leaders able to achieve what it set out to do? Did those involved address the liberalisation of trade in green goods? Are they any closer towards regional economic integration? Have they been able to spell out measures towards addressing concerns about food security? The answer to all four questions is a convincing “yes”. This clearly came through from the meeting of the ministers and leaders from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Peru, The Philippines, Russia,...

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) — Negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are targeted to conclude this year, said US ambassador Paul W. Jones. The outgoing US ambassador, who is celebrating his last Fourth of July American Independence Day reception Wednesday night, said subsequent rounds on the TPP negotiations are expected after the 18th round of the TPP negotiations in Kota Kinabalu from July 15 to 25. “Progress on the TPP negotiations will also be assessed during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders meeting in October in Bali this year,” he said at a press conference in conjunction with the US Embassy’s Fourth of July reception. On the impact of the TPP on the prices of drugs and medicines, he said there is a need to strike a balance between keeping prices affordable and giving incentives for investment in research and development (R&D). “The US is a big supporter of generic drugs, they are a major part of our medicine market,” he...

MEDIA RELEASE 20TH APEC MINISTERS RESPONSIBLE FOR TRADE MEETING 17 – 18 MAY 2014

Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed welcomed China’s initiative to further advance APEC Leaders’ mandates on FTAAP to achieve deeper regional economic integration. Malaysia supported a study to be done as it would be a useful analytical work to evaluate not only the potential benefits, but also the impact, challenges and readiness of economies to meet the high standards envisaged in FTAAP. We are very supportive of the initiative to develop a roadmap for FTAAP and are also supportive of the decision to task officials to finalise this roadmap by the end of this year. This initiative however does not imply that negotiations on FTAAP will be launched immediately after the study is completed. APEC as a non-binding, voluntary forum will play a leadership role and provide intellectual inputs into the FTAAP process, and the FTAAP when agreed, will be pursued outside of APEC. FTAAP will not be inconsistent with Malaysia’s participation in the on-going negotiations on TPP and RCEP. On the...

Apec’s 25th anniversary is a good time to assess both the challenges and the opportunities faced by the organisation.

 

TWENTY-ONE leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Coopera-tion (Apec) economies meet in Beijing next week.

It will mark the organisation’s 25th anniversary.

So what has Apec got to show the world besides growing from 12-member economies in 1989 to 21 today?

How effective has it been in driving trade and investment?

What can these high-level meetings actually do to improve the global economy?

If one asks whether Apec’s main goal – easing the barriers to doing business in the region – has been achieved, the answer has to be yes. Here’s why.

To be sure, it’s had a head start. First, it accounts for 40% of the world’s population (2.8 billion people), 47% of global trade and 54% of the world’s real Gross Domestic Product in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.

Has it succeeded in easing tariff barriers? Again, yes.

When Apec was established in...

PETALING JAYA, Nov 4 (Bernama) — The open market under the Asean Economic Community (AEC) should be viewed as an opportunity, rather than a threat, says Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. He also debunked fears among sections of the younger generation that the AEC with its free movement of professionals might rob them of employment opportunities. “The perception and fear is unfounded, although we have signed mutual recognition agreements for the free movement of professionals like accountants, engineers, surveyors, doctors, architects and lawyers, subject to domestic rules and regulations, and not totally unregulated,” he said. He said Malaysia has been a net capital exporter for the last four to five years with many Malaysian companies investing large amounts of money abroad. “This has also opened up opportunities for young professional to venture abroad,” he added. He told reporters this after officiating the closing of the...