KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 ( Bernama) — Malaysia’s economic scorecard under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint is currently at 83.9 per cent with 70 out of 436 variable measures still not being implemented, says Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad. The minister said Malaysia was now ranked sixth among the ten ASEAN countries in AEC’s economic scorecard. He said he was confident to be able to implement at least half of the 70 unimplemented variables in six months’ time or middle of next year to improve the country’s ranking. “The variables, among others, fall under different category measures like trade in goods, elimination of non-tariff barriers, service liberalisation and non ratification of agreements and involving many sectors,” he said. Mustapa said this at a media briefing after chairing an inter-agency meetings on AEC with ministers in the capital, Monday. “Overall, ASEAN has implemented 82.1 per cent of...

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 (Bernama) — The Belgian Economic Mission to Malaysia has received encouraging response to its sectoral seminars held, Monday to introduce the country’s advancement and availability of technologies. Belgium Ambassador to Malaysia, Daniel Dargent said the seminars included on clean technology, agro-food and healthcare sectors. “At the same time, official meetings with Malaysian ministers were also held in the presence of Princess Astrid to enhance bilateral relationship, particularly in economic and commercial sectors,” Dargent told BERNAMA during the Belgium Economic Mission to Malaysia seminar in Kuala Lumpur. Ministers who attended the meeting were International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed; Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan; and Deputy Minister of Health Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya. Commenting on the halal cooperation and partnership, Dargent said apart from venturing into 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...

KOTA BAHARU, Dec 14 (Bernama) — The government is conducting a comprehensive study on the ringgit’s depreciation, says International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. He said the study was jointly undertaken by his ministry, Bank Negara Malaysia, Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister’s Department to ascertain the impact of the falling ringgit on the economy. “We have experts in the government, Bank Negara Malaysia, MOF and EPU who are carrying out studies to determine if the depreciating ringgit is good or bad and if it has a positive effect on the economy,” he told reporters after presenting prizes and BMW cars to winners of a contest organised by Bank Islam Malaysia here, Sunday. Mustapa said as a trading nation, the depreciation of the ringgit would definitely have an effect and it was necessary for the study to determine its impact on imports, exports, inflation, manpower and others. “Ups and down in...

NEW DELHI, Jan 15 (Bernama) — India remained an interesting market for investments for the long term, Khazanah Nasional Bhd director for investments in India, Babar Ali Khan, said.

 

“India has always been an interesting market for us. We are always on the lookout for suitable investment opportunities,” he said on the sidelines of a briefing session with Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, here today.

Khazanah has been investing in India since 2005.

He however declined to give specific sectors that Khazanah is interested to invest in the country.

Among Khazanah’s direct and indirect investments in India now are Infrastructure Development Finance Company, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad Airport as well as investments in consumer and pharmaceutical sectors.

NEW DELHI, Jan 15 (Bernama) — India’s Sadguru Polymers Pvt Ltd & Triace Solutions is keen to set up a PVC resin manufacturing plant in Malaysia with an initial investment of between RM6.06 million and RM7.13 million. “This will be our first investment out of India and we would like to invest in Malaysia as it is strategically located for us to source the raw materials,” Sadguru Polymers Managing Director Harinath P. said. “We are looking at Johor for now, but we are keeping our options open as Port Klang is an equally attractive location. “We want to be close to the port as it is easier for transportation of raw materials,” he told the Malaysian media here today. The PVC resin, a raw material for the manufacture of pipes and fittings, will be exported to India and other countries, he said. Phase II of the firm’s expansion will be a metallurgical manufacturing plant, he said, adding that the PVC resin plant is the first focus area. “If everything works out...

JAIPUR (Rajasthan), Jan 16 (Bernama) — International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed met Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and discussed the strong bilateral ties between the two nations. Among others, India requested Malaysia, which is the current chair of Asean, to take up a more proactive role in the negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade pact. Mustapa said Malaysia considered the conclusion of the RCEP negotiations as one of the deliverables during Putrajaya’s chairmanship of the 10-member grouping. There are ample political will to conclude the negotiations, he said during the 15-minutes meeting held on the sidelines of the Confederation of Indian Industry Partnership Summit 2015 here today. RCEP is a proposed free trade agreement, which involves the 10 members of Asean and six other nations namely Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. The negotiations for RCEP,...

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 (Bernama) — Malaysia’s participation at this year World Economic Forum (WEF) reflects its commitment to shape the global trade agenda, and lead conversations on Asean economic integration, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said. “This is an important year for Malaysia and as Chair of Asean, we must be in the forefront in ensuring the realisation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC). “We must take the opportunity to engage the international business community and civil society and lead by example,” he said in a statement Friday. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will be attending the two-day forum from Jan 23 in Davos, Switzerland. Najib, who is also Finance Minister, will be accompanied by Mustapa and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Wahid Omar. The delegation also includes several prominent Malaysian business leaders as well as heads of investment-related agencies. One of the...

AVOS (Switzerland), Jan 20 (Bernama) — “More Opportunities”. That is what Malaysia is set to offer at the upcoming World Economic Forum (WEF), which starts tomorrow until Jan 24. Whether it is business opportunities or ease of doing business in Malaysia, there are plenty to offer on the table amid concerns by economists around the world of a very challenging first half, this year. All preparations to hold the 45th annual forum at the world’s famous ski resort of Davos-Klosters in Switzerland are in place despite the shivering cold weather. With this year’s forum themed, “The New Global Context”, more than 40 head of states and government, together with 2,500 business leaders, will convene for five days here to discuss current global economic landscapes and strategies, moving forward. Eye-catching banners reading “Malaysia Doing Business. Building Friendships” and “More Opportunities”, placed at strategic locations around the Panorama Hotel, can be spotted...

Asean will officially call itself a single market by year’s end, but “big things” like seamless travel within the 10-nation bloc would only come in 2020, Malaysia’s trade minister told AFP in an interview. “We’re going to declare ourselves as an Asean Economic Community,” said Mustapa Mohamed, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Southeast Asian bloc this year. “We don’t have complete integration or harmonisation yet, 2015 is laying the stage for bigger things to come,” he said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. “We’re going to get almost there by 2015 but the big things like seamless travel… would come in 2020. “What’s important is that we’re committed, I’m not saying that we’re backtracking,” added the minister. The Southeast Asian bloc, a market of about 600 million people, had set 2015 as a deadline for integrating the region’s vast economies into a single European Union-style market, with tariffs...