26 June 2014, Kuala Lumpur - YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) led a dialogue session with 16 companies in Perlis, organised by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), today.  YB Minister was accompanied by YBhg. Dato’ Azman Mahmud, Chief Executive Officer of MIDA, and other officials from MITI and MIDA. According to Dato’ Sri Mustapa, “There are many opportunities in Perlis that investors should be made to be aware of. All that we need to do is to position Perlis as a state of opportunity.  The State is mainly driven by the agriculture sector.  Notwithstanding this, it is heartening to note that approved investments in the manufacturing sector for 2013 in Perlis have increased substantially by nine times the figures achieved in the year of 2011, a testimony that this state is becoming an increasingly competitive destination for investments.” “We are actively working with all stakeholders including the...

BEIJING, Nov 9 (Bernama) — Malaysia has called for the reconvening of the World Trade Organisation’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA) expansion negotiations and urged for swift conclusion. Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, reiterated Malaysia’s commitment in concluding the ITA expansion negotiations, at the APEC ministerial meeting here. “We hope to see the implementation of the ITA2 agreement in the shortest timeframe possible as it will bring benefits to our economy and promote trade growth,” he said in a statement here today. The business community has a lot to gain from this initiative, he said. It would also support the government’s efforts at creating jobs, he said. Malaysia’s total trade in information communication technology (ICT) and electrical & electronic products in 2013 amounted to US$107 billion while exports totalled US$62 billion and imports amounted to US$45 billion. The ITA expansion negotiations...

 

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 (Bernama) — Malaysia has the potential to achieve an economic growth of between 5.5 and six per cent as targeted for this year, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. He said this was based on positive economic performance in the previous quarter as well as the prevailing economic stability. “Even though the gross domestic product (GDP) for the third quarter was less encouraging, the growth was still within the budget forecast. “We have anticipated that there would be a slight drop (in the third quarter this year) from 6.5 per cent in the second quarter as it was linked to the prevailing world economic conditions, but was still within the forecast. “Looking at the performance in the fourth quarter, we (the government) believe the forecast could be achieved. “This is based on investment, export and foreign trade performance that would enable Malaysia to be ahead of many countries,” Mustapa told...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia recorded a 9.1. per cent growth in investments in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period in 2013. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the total RM172.3 billion investments were in services, primary and manufacturing sectors. The services sector was the largest in terms of investments, number of projects and enployment opportunities. The real estate sub sector attracted 56.4 per cent of investments in the servives sector. “The manufacturing sector also did well, recording the highest for the first nine months,” he told a media briefing today. Malaysia recorded RM63.5 billion for the period of January to September. Mustapa said the leading sources of foreign investments were Japan. Singapore, China, Germany and Korea.  

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 (Bernama) — The government has decided to impose a provisional safeguard duty of 23.93 per cent ad-valorem on imports of hot-rolled steel plate (HRP) with effect from Sunday for a period of 200 days. The Ministry of International TRADE and Industry (MITI), in a statement Friday, said the provisional safeguard duty was to reduce the effects of serious injury to the domestic industry caused by the surge in HRP imports. “The final determination under section 23 of the Safeguards Act 2006 will be made within 200 days from the application of the provisional safeguard measure,” it added. On Aug 18, the government initiated a safeguard investigation based on a petition filed by Ji Kang Dimensi Sdn Bhd on behalf of domestic HRP producers. The petitioner alleged that increased HRP imports from 2011 to 2013 had caused serious injury to the domestic industry. The government’s preliminary investigation under section 20 of the Safeguards Act 2006 found that...

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 (Bernama) — The government is expected to announce measures to further bolster the economy soon following the recent fall in the value of the ringgit, said International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Hamim Samuri. Without elaborating on the measures to be taken, he said they are based on the economy’s still strong fundamentals as well as favourable investment trends and balance of payments. “The people should place their trust in the government and give space to the leaders based on our past experience,” he told reporters after the launch of the Perdasama Muda national committee here today. Earlier, he said the government has experience in handling the ringgit’s large depreciation during the 1997 financial crisis, which was aggravated by a massive outflow of short-term capital. However, he said, the situation this time around is different in that it has been caused by a fall in commodity prices. He also urged the people not to resort...

KUALA LUMPUR: TB Supply Base Sdn Bhd (TBSB), which has received interest from over 100 companies to utilise its facilities in Tok Bali, Kelantan, will spend RM100 million in 2015 for civil works and to build facilities such as additional warehouses, Customs and Immigration building, new offices, canteen, rigging loft, crew jetty and helipad. TBSB is ultimately owned by Kelantan royalty Tengku Rozanna Petri and Tengku Rozlynda Petri Tengku Mohd Nasrun, through Forlenza Holdings Sdn Bhd. Forlenza through Matrix Reservoir Sdn Bhd, owns a 99.99% stake in TBSB. TBSB’s directors include Tengku Datuk Mohamad Rizam Tengku Abdul Aziz (also the chairman), Tengku Rozanna Petri and Shankar Ray Shi-Wan. TBSB is a logistics hub located in Tok Bali, Kelantan specifically catered to providers of support services to the offshore oil and gas industry. It has invested RM90 million to date since June 2014, for facilities like warehouses, revamp works and wharf. TBSB is located on a 328 acres...

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia aims to attract investments worth RM56bil in the manufacturing sector in 2015, a modest target compared with the RM71.9bil it received last year. Minister of International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the manufacturing sector has remained attractive to investors, with  approved investments in the sector surging by 38% to RM71.9bil in 2014 compared with RM52.1bil in 2013. For the services sector, excluding real estate, the government expects to attract RM64.5bil in investments this year, the minister said after revealing the country’s Investment Performance Report 2014 here today. Despite a challenging external environment this year, Mustapa said he still expects a moderate outlook for the investment climate in Malaysia. He said currently there are RM65.1bil worth of on-going projects –RM51.4bil in the manufacturing sector and RM13.7bil in the services sector. Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) Chief...

KUALA LUMPUR 26 Feb. - Asas kewangan yang kukuh dan dasar negara yang pragmatik sejak lima tahun lalu diyakini meletakkan Malaysia dalam landasan yang betul untuk menjadi sebuah negara maju menjelang 2020. Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Unit Pengurusan Prestasi dan Pelaksanaan (PEMANDU), Datuk Seri Idris Jala berkata, sehubungan itu, negara perlu kekal fokus dalam memperkembangkan sektor-sektor ekonomi utama dan memperbaiki persekitaran perniagaan di negara ini. “Kita tidak boleh berputus asa dengan cabaran-cabaran sebaliknya meneruskan perancangan sedia ada,” katanya dalam program Rangkuman Ekonomi 2014 di sini hari ini. Yang turut hadir pada program itu ialah Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar dan Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad. Tambah Idris, pertumbuhan ekonomi 2014 yang kukuh diterajui oleh aktiviti-aktiviti pelaburan swasta dalam pelbagai industri utama termasuk...

GEORGE TOWN (Feb 28): Penang moved up one notch to the third spot with the highest number of approved investments in the country last year, after Johor and Sarawak. Penang approved local and foreign investments totalling RM8.2 billion in 2014, a 109% jump from the previous year. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state approved foreign investments amounting to RM5.1 billion and RM3.04 billion in  domestic investments last year. “In 2013, our total proposed capital investment was RM3.9 billion and we were ranked No. 4,” he told a news conference to announce the investment figures released by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) yesterday. “This (2014) is good results, although it is more important that we receive quality investments. “It should not be typical industries but those that can add value, be high-tech and are knowledge intensive,” Lim said. He added that the investments in Penang were widely distributed between local and foreign businesses...