Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2016, TOKYO: Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) marked a momentous occasion by signing a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to double their efforts in promoting trade between the two countries. The MoC exchanged was witnessed by Malaysian Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak and Japanese Prime Minister the Honourable Shinzō Abe.

MATRADE was represented by its Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Dzulkifli Mahmud and JETRO by its Chairman and CEO Mr Hiroyuki Ishige. The MoC signals a strong commitment between the two countries to intensify co-operation in areas of mutual benefits such as facilitation in trade promotion activities, exchange of information, collaborations in specific programmes and projects to promote the Halal sector, among many others.

At the event, YAB Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak has recommended for Malaysia to be Japan’s Halal Advisor in preparation for its Olympics 2020, particularly in providing advice on shariah compliance for products and services to be supplied to the Muslim consumers during the world’s sporting event.

The MoC was an initiative during a Trade and Investment Mission to Tokyo led by YAB Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak aimed at enhancing bilateral trade and investment between the two nations. According to Dato’ Dzulkifli Mahmud, Japan regards Malaysian brands of the highest quality,hence earning Malaysia the loyalty from the Japanese consumers. “We foresee a great demand to surface from the Tokyo Olympics event, especially in the Halal segment,” he said.

Japan also remains among Malaysia’s largest sources of foreign direct investments in the manufacturing sector. Japanese investors are mainly active in sectors such as Electronics & Electrical products, non-metallic mineral products, basic metal products, petroleum products including petrochemicals, chemicals and chemical products, as well as transport equipment.

A lot of Malaysian companies have made inroads into Japan, with some venturing into the area of Halal restaurants. Some of the brands include Brahim’s Food Japan Co. Ltd. that offers authentic Malaysian Halal food, Les’ Copaque Japan Co., Ltd. which has opened two Halal restaurants called Saishoku Teppan Ippin and Ippin Asakusa as well as Harq Food Industry Sdn Bhd that owns Wadihana Malaysia Halal Restaurant in Kyoto. Some other Malaysian brands that have a presence in Japan are Top Glove, S.Kian Seng, Julie’s, Carotino and Bonia, just to name a few.

Likewise, Japanese companies too, have ventured in Malaysia through brands like Nippon Express which is the first Japanese logistics company to acquire Halal logistics certification in Malaysia. Others include familiar names like Daiso, Panasonic, Sanyo, Honda, Fuji Electric and Sony. For 2016, there are 12 trade promotion programmes organised by MATRADE in collaboration with JETRO, The Japanese Chamber of Trade & Industry, Malaysia (JACTIM), Malaysia-Japan Economic Association (MAJECA) and ASEAN Japan Trade Centre. These programmes include trade fairs, marketing missions and international sourcing programmes.

In 2015, Japan was Malaysia’ 4th largest trading partner after China, Singapore and the United States of America, with an export value of RM127.40 billion (USD 32.77) billion recorded. Export with Japan in 2015 stood at RM73.81 billion and imports were RM53.59 billion. The top-5 Malaysian exports to Japan in 2015 were Electrical & Electronics products, Chemicals & Chemical products, Petroleum products, Palm Oil & Palm-based agro products and Liquefied Natural Gas.