Geneva, Dec 16 - Today Malaysia was given the privilege to chair the Plenary Session of the 8th WTO Ministerial Conference. Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry, believes that the choice of Malaysia to chair one of the plenary session is a clear recognition of Malaysia’s efforts to advance the WTO agenda.   The WTO was formed in 1995 to promote multilateral trade liberalisation and enforce global trade rules. Malaysia is a founding Member of the WTO. This Ministerial Conference is especially historic due to the accession of Russia, Samoa, Vanuatu and Montenegro.   Mustapa believes that Russia’s accession will open more opportunities for Malaysian exports to Russia and further strengthen bilateral economic relations between the Malaysia and Russia. The accession also shows that the WTO is a truly global institution dealing with trade.   Mustapa also took the opportunity to conduct a series of bilateral discussion with its...

THE services sector is overtaking manufacturing as the main contributor to economic growth. This will have vast implications on where people are going to find work and what skills they will need to get employed.  The government’s growth target is very clear: To become a developed nation by 2020. Using a World Bank definition, that means having a per capita income of RM49,500 (US$15,000) by the end of the decade. The per capita income level in 2010 was RM23,100 (US$7,000).This is an ambitious target and requires gross domestic product (GDP) growth of at least 7 per cent per year.  Historically, the country’s growth had been led by manufacturing. But when the government reviewed its economic policy last year, it realised that this may not be the case for much longer.  For two reasons. In developed economies, the services sector is usually the biggest contributor to economic output.  Last year,...

TRADE Ministers from 153 World Trade Organisation (WTO) countries met in Geneva last week to discuss multilateral trade issues. But most will remember this as the year Russia concluded its 18-year marathon negotiations and joined the world organisation.Three other countries – Vanuatu, Samoa and Montenegro – also joined the WTO, bringing its coverage of world trade to 97%. This is all for the good because greater inclusiveness means more countries will come under the trading guidelines of a common multilateral trading system. For Malaysia, Russia’s accession would increase stability and openness in its domestic business environment and this will be good for our exporters. Our main exports to the Russian Federation are palm oil, electronics and electrical goods, iron and steel and rubber products.I had the privilege of chairing one of the plenary sessions as well as two working sessions – Trade and Development and the Doha Round of negotiations. I also chaired the Islamic...

Kuala Lumpur, 20 January 2012 - World leaders will once again be brought together under the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (WEF) 2012 themed “The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models”, where focus will be on defining the future direction for global economic growth, gathering the support of stakeholders and driving the motion towards realising the future vision. Minister of International Trade and Industry Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed will be participating in this Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland scheduled from 25 to 29 January 2012.   At the WEF Annual Meeting, Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed will be participating as discussion leader, special guest, and contributor respectively in a number of public, private and industry partnership sessions. These include sessions on: ‘Is This Truly the Asian Century?’, ‘Defining the Imperatives for 2012’, and ‘Manufacturing for Growth’.   In addition to these WEF scheduled sessions, Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed will...

Davos, 26 Jan - Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri menjadi hos dialog pagi Malaysia kepada 20 ahli korporat, pemimpin kerajaan dan media yang telah diadakan di samping mesyuarat Forum Ekonomi Dunia (WEF) 2012 di Davos. Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, Pengarah Urusan Khazanah Nasional turut menyampaikan ucapan semasa dialog tersebut. Dalam ucapannya, Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed menekankan mengenai daya tarikan Malaysia sebagai destinasi pelaburan utama kepada pelabur asing, khususnya bagi syarikat-syarikat berteknologi tinggi dan berasaskan pengetahuan. Beliau juga menyatakan bahawa persekitaran perniagaan yang kondusif di Malaysia telah melahirkan banyak syarikat berdaya saing di peringkat global seperti Petronas, Air Asia, Axiata, Maybank, CIMB dan Integrated Healthcare Berhad. Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed turut menerangkan mengenai transformasi yang sedang dilalui Malaysia yang akan menjadikan negara ini lebih terbuka untuk...

26 January 2012, Davos

Davos, 26 Jan – Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry, hosted a Malaysian breakfast dialogue for 20 global corporate, government and media leaders at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum 2012 in Davos. Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, Managing Director of Khazanah Nasional, also spoke at the breakfast meeting. In his remarks, Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed emphasised the attractiveness of Malaysia as a premier investment destination for foreign investors, particularly for companies that are of high technology and knowledge driven. He added that the conducive business environment of Malaysia has given birth to many globally competitive companies such as Petronas, Air Asia, Axiata, Maybank, CIMB and Integrated Healthcare Berhad. Mustapa stressed that Malaysia is going through a very exciting transformation which will make the country even more open for business. In spite of the emergence of regional and global companies...

 

 

The 16th Malaysia-Australia Joint Trade Committee (JTC) Meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur on 31 January 2012. The JTC Meeting was co-chaired by the Hon. Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Malaysia’s Minister of International Trade and Industry, and the Hon. Dr. Craig Emerson MP, Minister for Trade Australia. Members of the Malaysia-Australia Business Council (MABC) and the Australia Malaysia Business Council (AMBC) also attended the meeting. The 16th JTC meeting discussed a number of issues ranging from Australia’s food labelling legislation, logging regulation and investment issues related to mining and resource processing as well as financial services. The meeting reviewed the progress of the ongoing close cooperation between Malaysia and Australia on customs matters, Islamic finance, clean energy and green technology as well as the automotive sector. In terms of new collaboration proposals, it was agreed that Malaysia and Australia to pursue cooperation in the areas...

This is an excerpt of the opening address delivered by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed at the United Kingdom & Eire Council of Malaysian Students’ Projek Amanat Negara Conference in London on Saturday WHEN  Datuk Seri Najib  Razak assumed office as the sixth prime minister, he recognised that the days of “business as usual” for the government of Malaysia were over. Malaysians were now expecting more from their government. They wanted higher standards of transparency and accountability, as well as better governance and efficiency. The government had to become more responsive to the people’s needs.Clearly, there was a need to redefine the role of government and how it carried out its responsibilities to meet the ever-increasing expectations. It must be said that Najib embodied this transformation in the way he went about his business. He immediately went about engaging the newly-resurgent social media by organising events based...

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...

ON Feb 26, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed will meet with his Asean counterparts in Nay Pyi Daw, Myanmar, to discuss regional economic issues. This will be the 18th session of the Asean Economic Ministers’ (AEM) meeting, and the fact that it is being held in Myanmar is of no special significance, given that it is the country’s rotational turn. Until now, that is. Events in Myanmar have unfolded so rapidly that this meeting in Myanmar’s new capital city has now assumed a much higher profile. Myanmar is on the verge of a new political and economic beginning. Trade and investment sanctions are coming down. National reconciliation dominates domestic politics. And the conditions for the commencement of economic reconstruction appear to be falling into place. All this is good news. Myanmar is a country full of promise. It has vast reserves of natural resources and its people are hardworking and capable....