DAVOS, Jan 24 (Bernama) — The 1Malaysia spirit shown by the Malaysian government, private sector and non-governmental organisation (NGO) delegates at the 45th World Economic Forum here have put the Malaysia brand squarely on the world stage. Although Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had to cut short his proceedings at the WEF this time to pay his last respects to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Saud, who passed away early on Friday, the other Malaysian delegates worked hard to ensure Malaysia’s objectives at WEF were met. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said although it was his eighth WEF participation, the response to brand Malaysia this time around was extraordinary. “This time there was good cooperation among government, private sector and NGO delegates enabling us to achieve extraordinary success at the WEF,” he told Malaysian journalists after Friday’s ‘Malaysia Night’ featuring Malaysian cuisine and...

Kuala Lumpur: Kementerian Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri (MITI) optimis eksport pasaran produk halal negara akan melepasi RM32 bilion tahun ini walaupun berdepan dengan situasi kejatuhan nilai ringgit serta penurunan harga minyak mentah dunia. Ini berikutan kelemahan kedua-dua sektor berkenaan memberi kesan positif kepada peningkatan perdagangan produk halal ke pasaran asing memandangkan negara pengimport boleh membeli dengan harga murah serta meningkatkan kapasiti pengeluaran dari Malaysia. Timbalan Menterinya, Datuk Hamim Samuri berkata, ramuan halal menjadi sektor terpenting eksport itu memandangkan ketika ini Malaysia menjadi pengeksport utama dunia dan ia belum banyak diterokai oleh negara lain berbanding sektor makanan dan minuman. Beliau berkata, setakat separuh pertama 2014, sektor ramuan halal menyumbang RM6 bilion kepada jumlah keseluruhan eksport berjumlah RM18 bilion dan dijangka berkembang tahun ini. “Semua produk halal memerlukan ramuan bagi dikeluarkan...

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 (Bernama) — The plunge in global oil prices will not impact the implementation of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), said Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Ir Hamim Samuri. He said plans for ASEAN to declare itself as a single economic community were moving ahead with speed. “We are convinced that even the global slump in oil prices will not have an adverse effect towards the realisation of the AEC,” he said at Affin Hwang Capital Conference Series 2015 here today. He was one of the speakers at the conference. Hamim said Malaysia, as chair of ASEAN for 2015, was focused on realising the AEC by year-end. “We aim for ASEAN member states to complete 95 per cent of the integration measures by that date,” he said. He said the potentials for ASEAN were enormous and if combined with the conclusion of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the region’s future economic growth would be...

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 (Bernama) — The six per cent growth rate to the gross domestic product (GDP) recorded by the Malaysian economy last year is still encouraging despite the uncertain world economy. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the number was still positive and remained the highest compared with other Asean members. “With this growth, I am confident that Malaysia will continue to progress to be a high-income nation by 2020,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of the Mid-Tier Companies Development Programme here today. Today, Bank Negara Malaysia reported GDP growth of six per cent for 2014 compared with 4.7 per cent a year ago. As for the fourth quarter, the central bank reported a higher growth of 5.8 per cent versus 5.6 per cent in the third quarter.  

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 (Bernama) — The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015 is still a work in progress and ASEAN member states are targeting to complete 95 per cent of the integration measures by the end of 2015. Ministry of International Trade and Industry senior director of ASEAN Economic Cooperation Division P. Ravidran said the economic ministers believe 95 per cent is doable by end-2015. “Ninety five per cent should mark a great achievement as nowhere in the world is there 100 per cent economic integration. “The five per cent short-fall is said to be implemented as a priority implementation measure in 2016,” he said at the Economic Diplomacy Series 1/2015 organised by the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia here today. On the status of the AEC implementation, Ravidran said the overall implementation rate for Phases I to III (2008-2013) is 80.7 per cent or 334 out of 414 ASEAN-wide measures. For ASEAN-wide Phase...

Malaysia’s total trade went up by 5.9 per cent to RM1.5 trillion last year from RM1.4 trillion in 2013. Deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the export value increased by 6.4 per cent from RM46.1 billion to RM766.1 billion, while import value also increased by 5.3 per cent from RM34.3 billion to RM683 billion. “Strong export growth has contributed to the trade surplus for 17th consecutive year. The trade surplus for 2014 indicated an increase of 16.6 per cent, an improvement compared to negative growth (-22.8 per cent) recorded in 2012 and (-25.7 per cent) in 2013. “The manufacturing sector has contributed RM587.3 billion, an increase of 7.1 per cent from RM39.1 billion,” he said when addressing industry players in the state during a meet the people session on Thursday. Muhyiddin said a total of 3,966 projects were approved in the country with a capital investment worth RM259.9 billion from 2010 to September 2014, adding these investment projects had...

KUALA LUMPUR, 18 Feb (Bernama) –Menteri-Menteri Ekonomi dari negara-negara anggota ASEAN akan berada di Kota Bharu, Kelantan dari 28 Februari - 1 Mac untuk menghadiri satu mesyuarat penting bagi merancang usaha-usaha ke arah penubuhan Komuniti Ekonomi ASEAN (ASEAN Economic Community – AEC). Pemukiman Menteri-Menteri Ekonomi ASEAN ke-21, salah satu daripada mesyuarat-mesyuarat ASEAN yang dianjurkan bersempena kepimpinan ASEAN oleh Malaysia pada 2015, akan dipengerusikan oleh Y.B. Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri.  Menteri-Menteri Ekonomi ASEAN yang akan menghadiri Pemukiman ini adalah seperti di Lampiran A. Pemukiman yang merupakan acara tahunan ini kebiasaannya diadakan bertujuan untuk membolehkan Menteri-Menteri Ekonomi ASEAN menilai dan mengambil maklum tentang pencapaian keseluruhan proses integrasi serantau selain mempertimbang dan membincangkan inisiatif-inisiatif baru. Walau bagaimanapun, Pemukiman kali ini adalah sangat...

The 21st ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Retreat, which will be held in Kota Baharu, Kelantan from February 28 to March 1, will focus on ensuring all core economic integration measures stipulated in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) blueprint are realized, according to Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

 

The AEC is scheduled to come into effect by December 31 this year. Photo: dangcongsan.vn The AEC is scheduled to come into effect by December 31 this year, intending to create a single market and production base in the region to further bolster ASEAN’s progress and prosperity. Recommendations from the private sector and concerns over a perceived increase in non-tariff barriers to trade in the region will also be main discussion points for the ministers. The ministers are also expected to consider and provide guidance on the draft of the Post-2015 Economic Vision and Plan for ASEAN, a critical deliverable as stakeholders expect the bloc to issue a new...

Ready to Attract Oil and Gas Players KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) — Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry today announced that Tok Bali Supply Base Sdn Bhd (TBSB) has obtained the following approvals for its operations: a. Ministry of Finance approval for its establishment of the Supply Base in Tok Bali, on 7th January 2015. b. Supply Base & Bonded Warehouse License approval under Section 65 & 65A dated 12th January 2015 from Royal Customs Department. c. ISPS certificate from Marine Department Malaysia for the period of 5 years starting from 15th January 2015 to 14th  January 2020 for bulk carrier and oil tanker facilities. d. Supply Base License for leasing and rental activities from PETRONAS dated 21st January 2015. With these approvals, TBSB is now in a position to move on and attract relevant oil & gas industry players to locate their operations in Tok Bali. Recently, TBSB signed a sub-lease and throughput agreement with Astral...