Overview of the Global Economic Scenario   ·    We are meeting at a time when the world economy is facing unprecedented challenges.   ·    Trade has grown more slowly than expected in recent months. World trade growth forecast for 2011 has been revised to 5.8%, down from an earlier estimate of 6.5%.   ·    In light of this challenging time, the greatest mistake countries can make is to look inwards and slide towards protectionism. There has been an increase in new trade restrictions. We hope that these measures are temporary in nature and that Governments demonstrate responsibility and commitment in dismantling them and discontinuing this negative trend.   ·    As a trade dependent country, Malaysia too is not immune to the negative impact of the economic and financial crisis. However, we believe that a conducive, facilitative, business and regulatory environment are critical factors that would help steer the...

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...

Pemimpin-pemimpin dunia sekali lagi akan bersidang di Mesyuarat Tahunan Forum Ekonomi Dunia (WEF) 2012 yang bertemakan “The Great Transformation: Shaping New Models“, dengan memberi fokus terhadap menentukan hala tuju pertumbuhan ekonomi global, menghimpunkan sokongan stakeholder serta memacu ke arah merealisasikan wawasan masa depan. Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri, Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed akan mengambil bahagian di dalam Mesyuarat Tahunan ini di Davos, Switzerland yang dijadualkan berlangsung dari 25 hingga 29 Januari 2012. Pada Mesyuarat Tahunan WEF ini, Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed akan mengambil bahagian sebagai pemimpin perbincangan, tetamu khas, dan penyumbang dalam beberapa sesi perkongsian awam, swasta dan industri. Antara sesi yang terlibat adalah: ‘Is This Truly the Asian Century?’, ‘Defining the Imperatives for 2012’ dan  ‘Manufacturing for Growth‘. Di samping menghadiri sesi-sesi WEF yang telah...

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...

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...