TANGKAK, Nov 23 (Bernama) — Malaysia is expected to attract at least RM200 billion or 10 per cent of the total investment in Asean countries with the implementation of the Asean Economic Community blueprint next year, says International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Hamim Samuri. “With the implementation of the AEC, agreed to in 2007, Malaysia will also benefit from a market of 620 million people in the Asean countries,” he told reporters after the presentation of Quality Environment Practices (QE/5S) certification by the Malaysian Productivity Corporation here today. Hamim said with the AEC harmonising and standardising intra-reginal import and export procedures, government agencies and the private sector need to improve their competitiveness in order to attract investors through QE/5S practices. Twelve organisations took part in a QE/5S training programme from April to October aimed at reducing wastage.  

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 (Bernama) — The national automobile industry needs to step up its competitiveness, particularly in the export market, given the rising intense competition from global players, says International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. He said the ministry was not happy with the current export performance of the industry unlike the offtake of auto-components which was performing well. Mustafa said the local industry would have to be mindful of the fact that in the next few years China would slowly, but surely, emerge as an important exporter. “Exports is one indicator of how competitive we are because we are competing against big giants from Japan, Korea and the United States. “Increasingly, perhaps in the future, we should be aware that the Chinese are building capabilities in the automobile sector,” he told a press conference after witnessing the signing of a vendor development programme by five companies here Tuesday. The...

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 (Bernama) — Asean Business Club (ABC) Co-Chairman Datuk Nazir Razak has urged the government to lay out Malaysia’s strategy for the Asean Economic Community (AEC), which will be a reality from next year. He said Malaysia, the Asean chairman in 2015, should further push the country’s aspiration and contribution to making the AEC a more meaningful economic reality. “We hope the government can lay out the strategy as to where we are going to be in the next 12 months,” he told the media on the sidelines of an ABC delegation visit to Malaysia and the launch of the “Lifting-The-Barriers Reports” here Monday. Nazir, who is also CIMB Group Chairman, said the ABC, which is already working with AEC consultants, has submitted a report to the AEC secretariat urging Asean member countries to prepare all sectors involved in the AEC, including retail, automotive and manufacturing. Ministry of International Trade and Industry Secretary General Datuk Dr Rebecca...

Kerajaan merancang untuk memperluaskan perniagaan melalui dalam talian (online) kepada seluruh usahawan Perusahaan Kecil dan Sederhana (PKS) tempatan kerana itu adalah pendekatan terbaik memasarkan produk ke seluruh negara ASEAN. Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed berkata, kementerian telah berbincang dengan SME Corp. dan Bank Negara bagi merangka pelan untuk tujuan tersebut. Menurutnya, paling penting, usahawan PKS perlu merebut peluang melibatkan diri menjalankan perniagaan melalui dalam talian kerana perniagaan itu adalah peluang terbaik untuk memasarkan produk yang dapat menembusi pasaran di negara-negara ASEAN. “Pihak kementerian, SME Corp. dan Bank Negara telah berbincang kelmarin di samping merangka pelan khusus untuk membantu usahawan PKS memasarkan produk mereka ke negara ASEAN dan kaedah terbaik kita lihat adalah melalui perniagaan dalam talian. “Justeru, mulai tahun hadapan, kementerian akan memperluaskan perniagaan melalui...

IN early 2006, Asean senior economic officials were given this challenge by their Ministers: craft the economic future of the grouping; an economic community not by 2020, as stipulated in Asean Vision 2020, but in 2015. Thus began the work towards an economically integrated Asean. Translation: the free movement of goods and services; and freer movement of capital and talents among the ten member states. In 2006, when the proposal to push for the realisation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 was mooted, it made economic sense. We had just come out of a major economic crisis, and initiatives towards the Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA) were well on the way. We were looking forward to the next steps towards deeper economic integration. So we drew up the AEC Blueprint as the guiding framework, and the AEC Scorecard to ensure that we did what we said we were going to do. And in all fairness, we have worked tirelessly to ensure that implementation was on track. But as 2015...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia recorded a 9.1. per cent growth in investments in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period in 2013. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the total RM172.3 billion investments were in services, primary and manufacturing sectors. The services sector was the largest in terms of investments, number of projects and enployment opportunities. The real estate sub sector attracted 56.4 per cent of investments in the servives sector. “The manufacturing sector also did well, recording the highest for the first nine months,” he told a media briefing today. Malaysia recorded RM63.5 billion for the period of January to September. Mustapa said the leading sources of foreign investments were Japan. Singapore, China, Germany and Korea.  

SEOUL: Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, said the second wave of the Look East Policy (LEP 2.0) will give a special focus on economic cooperation with South Korea and for a start it will be in line with Malaysia’s Economic Transformation Programme and South Korea’s Creative Economy initiatives. He said emphasis would be on developing strategic sectors such as automotive, small and medium enterprise (SME) development, trade and applied research and development to leverage on each other’s trade and investment environment ecosystem. “To drive implementation of LEP 2.0, both Malaysian and South Korean governments will leverage on the existing cooperative channels on bilateral industrial cooperation in automotive, electrical and electronics/information and communications technology, plant, and trade and investment to explore new areas of collaborations,” he told the Malaysian media here today. Mustapa is here as a member of the...

CYBERJAYA, Dec 16 (Bernama) — To remain relevant in the automotive industry in Malaysia and globally, local automotive players have no other alternatives but to strive and achieve the highest possible competitive ability, said Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. He said Malaysia’s automotive industry is now facing tremendous challenges due to the continuous changes in market trends, high demand for automotive safety regulations, pressure on environmental policies and demand for lower cost of mobility. “More critical is the stiff competition between automotive manufacturers in capturing market dominance. It is quite clear that with a combination of successful partnerships between the government and industry, the benefits are mutually exclusive. “I would like to call upon the industry players to support all training endeavours especially in providing on-the-job training for our new graduate and undergraduate students,” he said in his...

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 (Bernama) — The government is expected to announce measures to further bolster the economy soon following the recent fall in the value of the ringgit, said International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Hamim Samuri. Without elaborating on the measures to be taken, he said they are based on the economy’s still strong fundamentals as well as favourable investment trends and balance of payments. “The people should place their trust in the government and give space to the leaders based on our past experience,” he told reporters after the launch of the Perdasama Muda national committee here today. Earlier, he said the government has experience in handling the ringgit’s large depreciation during the 1997 financial crisis, which was aggravated by a massive outflow of short-term capital. However, he said, the situation this time around is different in that it has been caused by a fall in commodity prices. He also urged the people not to resort...

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti)is optimistic over Malaysia’s first quarter 2015 (1Q15) trade data amidst the uncertainty in current oil prices. Deputy‎ Minister (Trade) Datuk Lee Chee Leong said despite oil prices being expected to weaken further, the manufacturing and tourism segments are projected to support the 1Q15 data. “Judging from the trade figures for last year, it is still slightly better as compared to 2013. Although, the ringgit has depreciated at present, I expect the two segments to balance out our trade data. “But of course, it also depends on the global economic environment as well,” he told reporters after the launch of the Perdana University Master of International Trade (MIT) programme here, today. For the first quarter 2013, total trade stood at RM322.71 billion. Meanwhile, the MIT is a pioneering programme that will shape the study of international trade in the region. It is offered in collaboration with the...