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...

 

 

EVOLVING TIES: It’s a golden opportunity to boost trade and investments between two of the world’s important groupings TODAY, the Asean-European Union Consultations in Phnom Penh will set the stage to bring Asean and EU economic relations back on track and on to a higher plane.These relations hit a wall in 2009 when the Asean Economic Ministers and the EU Trade Commissioner agreed to halt their Free Trade Agreement negotiations. That was unfortunate. The FTA had been envisaged to have been able to strengthen and deepen the region-to-region economic integration and help build regional capacity towards realising an Asean Economic Community by 2015. Indeed, this involvement would have provided an added dimension to the region- to-region collaboration and enriched the Asean process as well. The FTA would also have added impetus to the EU’s technical assistance programmes under the Trans-Regional EU-Asean Trade Initiative and other economic integration initiatives. It...

By Datuk Mustapa Mohamed…

LAST year, Malaysia’s approved investments continued on a sharp recovery trend with total approved investments in the manufacturing sector recording a value of RM56.1bil compared with RM47.2bil in 2010. Penang, Selangor, Sarawak and Johor topped the table with RM9.1bil, RM8.7bil, RM8.5bil and RM6.6bil, respectively. Penang has consistently been among the top investment destinations over the last four decades.The island state is a manifestation of the success of Malaysia’s evolution from a primary-based to a highly industrialised economy. The success of the transition of the Malaysian economy is due, in no small measure, to the development and industrial plans introduced by the Federal Government since Independence, especially after 1970.A major thrust of these plans was to promote the growth of private investments, both local and foreign. These plans combined with a politically stable environment, effective policy and implementation framework,...

The Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, Y.B. Dato’ Mukhriz Mahathir is leading a Trade and Investment Mission to Kyoto and Nagoya, Japan from 23-25 April 2012. The Deputy Minister accompanied by Government Officials, State Government Representatives and a business delegation. The objectives of the mission are to follow up to the Trade and Investment Mission to Japan in July 2011 and Working Visit to Japan on 11-15 December 2011; promote Malaysia as the preferred investment destination in South East Asia; and firm-up business collaboration opportunities in sectors such as green technology, high-tech capital industry, biotechnology, advanced electronics and automotive industry . P rogrammes arranged for the mission include meetings with Japanese companies, Business Seminars and factory visits. The Deputy Minister will also be leading Malaysia at the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Roadshow to Japan which will be held from 25-28 April 2012 in Sendai and Tokyo, Japan. The...

YB Dato Sri’ Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry Malaysia and the Hon Dr. Craig Emerson MP, Australian Minister for Trade and Competitiveness, signed the Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement (MAFTA) today in Kuala Lumpur. The Free Trade Agreement will come into force on the 1st of January 2013. The signing of the MAFTA, which complements the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, marks another important milestone in Malaysia and Australia economic relations. The Malaysian trade minister is confident that this agreement will benefit both countries. “I am happy to note that Malaysia will benefit from this Agreement, particularly in the area of goods where this is the first FTA Malaysia is signing that will grant our exporters duty free treatment for 100% of our goods as soon as the Agreement comes into force on 1st January 2013. Australian exporters to Malaysia will also be able to immediately enjoy significantly reduced tariffs for...

JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT by YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed Minister of International Trade and Industry and YB Datuk Seri Dr. S. Subramaniam Minister of Human Resources FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR AN UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE SCHEME 1.    It has come to our attention that there has been concern expressed in news reports over the last few days on the issue surrounding the Unemployment Insurance Scheme especially from the Small and Medium Enterprises. 2.    We wish to inform that the Feasibility Study for an Unemployment Insurance Scheme is still at its fact finding and consensus building stage. A Tripartite Project Committee chaired by the Chief Executive Officer of SOCSO and comprising representatives of the Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) and the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) has been formed to monitor and guide the study. 3.    No decision has been made either as to its structure, implementation or its funding mechanism. The...

KOBE: Malaysia wants to diversify its exports to Japan as currently, about half are made up of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the rest are wood and wood-based products and electrical and electronic products. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the government wants to reduce its dependency on LNG exports. “Malaysia has a lot to offer to Japan other than LNG. Under the 12 National Key Economic Areas, we can export more in services, palm oil, tourism, healthcare, financial services and agriculture,” he told delegates at a seminar on investment and business opportunities in Malaysia here on Monday. Mustapa is leading a 25-member trade mission to Japan and South Korea which ends today. He said Malaysia has a lot to offer to companies which plan to set up their regional headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. “Malaysia is cost-competitive and is well connected to the region with good infrastructure, talents, tax breaks and liberal...

SINGAPORE, Feb 12 (Bernama) — As Malaysia gears towards becoming an aerospace hub in the region, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) is taking relentless efforts to promote the country’s industry players expand their markets overseas, a senior official said. Md Silmi Abdul Rahman, MATRADE Director (Transport, Logistics, Machinery, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)/Europe, Trade and Services Promotion Division) said the aerospace industry is a new industry under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. “As such, we are looking towards a higher value industry to move forward. Aerospace is one of the 13 sub-sectors of the industry,” he told BERNAMA when met at the Singapore Airshow being held at the Changi Exhibition Centre. He said MATRADE has been tasked to undertake the promotion drive of this industry to look for new overseas markets for Malaysian players. “All this while most of the...

KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 (Bernama) — Malaysia is on course to achieve total trade growth of between five-six per cent in 2014, says International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. He said broad recovery was seen in electrical and electronics exports while the trade surplus had become healthier in the first two months of 2014. “We have done well in the first two months. The performance has exceeded that of the same period last year,” he added. Mustapa was speaking to reporters after the launch of a book by former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam here Monday. The book, 21st Century Economics in the Muslim World, is a compilation of views on current economic issues of special interest to those following developments in the Muslim world. Malaysia’s trade in 2013 expanded by 4.6 per cent to RM1.36 trillion from RM1.309 trillion in 2012, boosted by a better export performance. The trade surplus last year amounted to RM70.63 billion. It was the 16th...

KUALA LUMPUR: THE World Bank has ranked Malaysia 18th out of 189 economies for ease of doing business, up two notches from last year, and ahead of countries such as Taiwan (19th), Switzerland (20th) and Japan (29th). The World Bank’s Doing Business 2015 Report, released yesterday, showed the top three performers were Singapore, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Bernama reports that Malaysia ranked first among emerging east Asian economies. A new method was used for the ranking because of limitations in the previous mechanism, such as loss of information, inability to track progress and inequality in business friendliness measured in larger countries. The ranking is now based on the distance to frontier (DTF) score — score of country that is ranked No. 1 — rather than the percentile rank. Malaysia’s score edged up to 78.83 points from last year’s 76.84 points. The report looked at 10 areas: starting a business; dealing with construction permits; getting electricity;...