Malaysia felt the impact of the global financial crisis, but through sound policy and hard work began to emerge from the crisis at the end of 2009 The world economy in 2009 underwent a major financial crisis. While the U.S., Europe and Japan were hardest hit, Malaysia did not escape economic contraction, but it was among the first countries to show signs of recovery due to the Government’s timely stimulus measures and sound fiscal policy.  The U.S. experienced a 2.4% contraction in real GDP, Europe’s economy shrunk by 4.1% and Japan saw a 5.2% contraction.  World total merchandise trade was down 23% in 2009, and total commercial services trade declines by 14%.  ASEAN saw slower GDP growth of 1.3% in 2009, compared with 4.4% growth in 2008. Malaysia’s economy shrunk in the first three quarters of 2009, but grew by 4.4% in the last three months of the year. Malaysia’s trading volume fell in 2009, in line with the global slowdown, but experienced much smaller...

MITI dengan kerjasama Kerajaan Negeri Sembilan akan menganjurkan program Showcase SDSI 2010 Peringkat Zon Tengah seperti berikut: Tarikh    : 26 – 27 Jun 2010 (Sabtu - Ahad) Tempat : Kompleks Belia dan Sukan, Paroi, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan Masa       : 10.00 pagi - 10.00 malam Showcase SDSI yang mula diperkenalkan pada tahun 2006 merupakan pameran tahunan terbesar di peringkat nasional yang menghimpunkan produk/perkhidmatan SDSI dari seluruh Malaysia dalam usaha untuk memasar dan mempromosikan keluaran SDSI. Penganjuran Showcase SDSI kini diperluaskan ke peringkat zon mulai tahun 2010. Objektif program adalah untuk: Membantu dan memudahkan pemasaran produk/perkhidmatan usahawan yang berkualiti;  Meningkatkan imej produk/perkhidmatan tempatan, khususnya SDSI;  Memberi pendedahan kepada umum bahawa keluaran SDSI adalah berpotensi dan berkualiti; Mewujudkan dan memperluaskan rantaian perniagaan dan networking di antara usahawan dengan pembeli...

Kindly take note that the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) will come to Malaysia for inspection mission on 19-30 July 2010 to ascertain compliance of aquaculture fishery products with USFDA requirements by Malaysian exporters to the United States (US) market. The purpose of the mission is to better understand and evaluate antibiotics and chemicals application regulatory system in aquaculture production in Malaysia, and the food safety controls that Malaysia has in place to ensure that fishery products exported to the US market are safe for human consumption. The mission will involve the inspection of facilities along the entire aquaculture fishery product supply chain for the US market which include the fishery processing establishments, aquaculture farms, traders/middlemen, retail and wholesale suppliers of veterinary drugs and feed used in the farms. All exporters of aquaculture fishery products to the US need to ensure compliance with the USFDA requirements...

YAB Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia officiated the International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) 2010 on 23 June at MATRADE in Kuala Lumpur. More than 1,000 delegates including foreign dignitaries, trade buyers, exhibitors, trade association representatives and international visitors attended the opening ceremony. In his speech, the Prime Minister announced the launch of two new halal standards, namely, Standards on Halal Cosmetics, MS 2200:2008; and Standards on Halal logistics, MS 2400:2010, which marked another milestone for Malaysia in the development of halal benchmarking. Earlier during the ceremony, YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry gave the opening remarks. He noted that the composition of products exhibited in MIHAS has developed over the years, branching out from mainly food to cosmetics; toiletries; pharmaceuticals; food packaging and machinery; logistics;...

MITI dengan kerjasama Kerajaan Negeri Sarawak akan menganjurkan program Showcase SDSI 2010 Peringkat Zon Sarawak seperti berikut: Tarikh        2-4 Julai 2010 (Jumaat -  Ahad) Tempat       Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Lama, Petra Jaya, KuchingMasa              10.00 pagi - 10.00 malam Perasmian Disempurnakan oleh YAB Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib bin  Mahmud Ketua Menteri Sarawak  2 Julai 2010 (Jumaat), 3.00 pm Pengisian program adalah berdasarkan konsep penganjuran Showcase SDSI peringkat nasional iaitu: Pameran dan jualan (lebih 100 booth usahawan dari Sarawak);  Seminar keusahawanan;  Bicara tokoh oleh usahawan berjaya;  Business matching;  Khidmat nasihat dan perundingan perniagaan secara percuma;  Promosi dan jualan makanan popular dari setiap Bahagian di negeri Sarawak– Menu Malaysia;  Pelbagai aktiviti menarik seperti persembahan kebudayaan, peragaan fesyen, cabutan bertuah, demonstrasi masakan, pertandingan karaoke dan banyak...

Highlights of the MWB this week includes: Malaysia-New Zealand FTA Under the Malaysia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (MNZFTA) which came into effect on 1 August, Malaysia and New Zealand will progressively reduce or eliminate tariffs on their respective industrial and agricultural products by 2016. Malaysian exporters will enjoy free duty on … T&I Mission to Seoul and Busan, Republic of Korea and working visit to Shanghai, The People’s Republic Of China The 62-member Trade & Investment delegation to the Seoul, Busan and led by Y.B. Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed recorded potential Korean and Chinese investment interests in solar industries, green technology, automotive and petrochemical industries as well as …… Termination of Anti-dumping and Anti-subsidy Investigations on Imports of Stainless Steel The European Commission (EC) on 14 July 2010 has terminated the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations on stainless steel fasteners and parts thereof (SSF)...

Highlights of the MITI Weekly Bulletin, Vol. 105 includes: Global Foreign Direct Investment in 2009 In 2009 global foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows shrank by 37.1% (y-o-y) to US$1,114.2 billion, while outflows fell by 42.9% to US$1,101 billion. In 2010, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) expects global FDI inflows to reach more than US$1.2 trillion. Developing and transition economies such as Brazil, the Russian Federation, India and China (BRIC) are expected to lead the FDI recovery and will remain favourable destinations for FDI. Investments In Manufacturing And Manufacturing Related Services (January – May 2010) F rom January to May 2010, a total of 334 projects were approved in the manufacturing sector with investments amounting to RM8.9 billion. Domestic investments amounted to RM4.5 billion (50.6%) while foreign investments totaled RM4.4 billion (49.4%). Potential for Bird’s Nests Export to Hong Kong I n 2009, Hong Kong...

Highlights of the MITI Weekly Bulletin, Vol. 107 includes: Malaysia to Become a Global Photovoltaic Industry Player Photovoltaics (PV) has been used for over half a century in a range of applications and is recognised globally as they offer solutions to meet increasing energy demand. Malaysia has the potential to become one of the leaders in solar PV manufacturing. With investments from top ranking global companies like Q-Cells, First Solar and SunPower, Malaysia is poised to become a global hub for solar PV manufacturing by 2011. It is estimated that the cumulative revenues from the PV industry will contribute up to 4% of the national GDP by 2020. Updates on the Indonesia–Malaysia–Thailand GrowthTriangle The Indonesia–Malaysia–Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) was formed in July 1993, with the objective of accelerating and facilitating economic development in participating regions/countries through greater integration of trade and commerce in the sub-regions. Six...

Highlights of the MITI Weekly Bulletin, Vol. 108 include: Investments in Manufacturing and Manufacturing-related Services (January - June 2010) From January to June 2010, a total of 455 projects were approved with investments amounting to RM13.2 billion. Foreign investments were RM7.5 billion (56.8%) while domestic investments were RM5.7 billion (43.2%). A total of 270 projects were new projects with RM7.2 billion (54.5%) investments. Main areas of investment …. Standards on Supplying Furniture To The UK Malaysian exporters wishing to supply furniture products to government agencies in the UK must adhere to the UK Government Buying Standards on Furniture. The Standard emphasises on the sourcing of furniture that utilises materials with low environmental impact and from sustainable sources. UK Deregulates Import of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Beginning 20 July 2010, the UK Government has de-regulated its import control on fruits and vegetables from non-EU sources which...

 

 

 

Highlights of the MITI Weekly Bulletin, Vol. 109 include:

Barriers to Free Trade: APEC Business Leaders Voice Concern At the 3rd APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Meeting held in Bangkok from 24-27 August, 2010, business leaders from 21 APEC economies expressed their concern over new trade protection measures that have emerged in the wake of the global financial crisis. While most APEC economies have not resorted to such measures and have in fact liberalised trade and investment, business leaders noted that some have continued to take trade restrictive measures. Progress of Malaysia-Turkey Free Trade Agreement (MTFTA) Negotiations Malaysian and Turkish officials held their second meeting of Malaysia-Turkey Free Trade Agreement (MTFTA) from 23 to 25 August 2010 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The MTFTA is expected to boost trade and investment between the two countries. Turkey is an attractive market for Malaysian products as it has a large population base of 77...