Perbadanan Pembangunan Perdagangan Luar Malaysia

MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2021, KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) uses digital platforms to organise a virtual Export Acceleration Mission (EAM) to the Philippines focusing on rail technology. This event shows MATRADE's ongoing commitment and momentum to help Malaysian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) stay afloat in these trying times.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Export Acceleration), Sharimahton Mat Saleh said "Malaysia's railway sector has improved technologically and modernised enough to be at par with countries such as the UK, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and China. The recent manufacturing of a new ‘green locomotive’ series, which is able to reduce up to 75% of carbon dioxide emission, has proved that Malaysia’s railway sector is committed to develop a train transportation system that is cost-effective, ecologically friendly, and safe. The manufacturing of Malaysia's 1st locally-made locomotives manifest an intrinsic value to the environment by minimising emissions and promoting green operations. A cleaner environment with less pollution has been achieved due to government actions to improve the sustainability of the railway system”.

"We have a good number of civil construction companies that have done well in the rail industry. In addition to projects in Malaysia, these firms have also been handed work in other countries. In markets like Thailand and Taiwan, our rail companies have already established a presence by building train stations, viaduct-tunnels, bridges, and other infrastructure," said Sharimahton.

According to Sharimahton, Malaysian railway companies also excel in automated fare collection, electrification, communications, and track maintenance. Because of their industry expertise, Malaysian companies are well-positioned to take advantage of international business prospects. Examples of Malaysia's expertise in foreign countries include the communication networks in Vietnam, the trackwork in Indonesia, and the vast majority of the energy systems in Southeast Asia.

The top exports for railway products in 2020 were contributed by parts of rolling-stock vehicles valued at RM21.4 million and signalling devices for railways valued at RM20.2 million. The top export destinations for Malaysia's railway products in 2020 are the USA, with an export value of RM11.3 million, followed by China RM7.7 million, Singapore RM4.6 million, Vietnam RM4.5 million and Australia RM3.5 million.

Meanwhile, the top imports for railway products in 2020 were contributed by parts of rolling-stock valued at RM185.4 million, self-propelled rolling stock valued at RM116.4 million, and railway passenger & special purpose coaches valued at RM74.4 million. The top imports sources for Malaysia's railway products in 2020 are South Korea with an import value of RM168.3 million, Canada RM115.4 million, China RM53.1 million, Germany RM38.6 million, and USA RM26.7 million.

Malaysia's major exports of railway products to the Philippines for the period of Jan to Aug 2021 were the railway track fixtures and fittings valued at RM867,140 cumulatively.

The virtual Export Acceleration Mission (EAM), which will take place from 20 to 21 October 2021, will see the participation of 12 Malaysian companies in promoting products and services from various rail industry subsectors such as Rolling Stock, Signalling & Telecommunication, Power Electrification, Track Works as well as Education related matters.

Despite the current Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysian companies' participation in this programme shows our business community's determination and high confidence to continue exploring business opportunities and potentials with their counterparts in the Philippines and strengthen the existing business ties between countries.

Undersecretary for Railways, Department of Transportation Philippines, Mr. Timothy John Batan, will present Philippine rail projects that are now available and in the pipeline during the 2-day Virtual EAM. Local and foreign participants will be interested in exploring Malaysian companies by attending the pitching session, which will be held at the same time. On the second day of the mission, virtual meetings were set up between Malaysian and Philippine companies, giving Malaysian companies the chance to promote their products and services further.

"MATRADE will continuously facilitate Malaysian companies to transcend the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic by providing digital platforms for Malaysian companies to share their expertise, capabilities, and capacity to supply a wide range of products and services to global markets," said Sharimahton.

Moving forward, MATRADE will continue to facilitate Malaysian companies to increase their presence and strengthen business connections with industry players in the Philippines. Malaysian companies keen on exploring or expanding their presence in the Philippines market are urged to contact MATRADE Manila at Alamat emel ini dilindungi dari Spambot. Anda perlu hidupkan JavaScript untuk melihatnya..  To learn more about how MATRADE can help the railway industry, don't hesitate to contact Mr. Iszam Khail (Alamat emel ini dilindungi dari Spambot. Anda perlu hidupkan JavaScript untuk melihatnya.) or Mr. Mohamad Nazirul (Alamat emel ini dilindungi dari Spambot. Anda perlu hidupkan JavaScript untuk melihatnya.).

MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2021, KUALA LUMPUR:  For Malaysian SMEs interested in identifying new potential export markets, they are welcome to register for the second MATRADE-Google workshop on the Market Finder tool. This digital tool training provided by Google will assist to reduce the costs of undertaking export businesses amid the lingering impact of the pandemic.

The workshop provides detailed insights to help simplify the export journey of SMEs into three (3) simple steps. First, to identify potential markets relevant to the SME businesses; second, to provide useful information for exports on payments, logistics, localisation, tax and legal, customer care and recruitment and third, to successfully market SME businesses abroad, which covers six (6) key aspects of online and offline marketing such as search, display, video, app analytics or measurement and strategy.

This workshop is Free of Charge (FOC) and the registration can be made online via http://bit.ly/mdbg-matrade OR https://events.withgoogle.com/mahir-digital/registrations/new/

The first session held on 6 August 2021, received overwhelming response with participation from 500 Malaysian SMEs.  “It is worthy for our SMEs to participate in this practical and easy to understand workshop in getting themselves ready for export.  Through this MATRADE-Google strategic export facilitation collaboration, I am confident that our SMEs taking part in this workshop will benefit and be able to enhance their skill sets and venture global market.”, said Encik Mustafa Abdul Aziz, Chief Executive Officer of MATRADE.

Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) is the national trade promotion agency, under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), continues to promote Malaysian Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) businesses for exports.

SMEs are urged to register with MATRADE as members, to enable them be more involved in MATRADE’s export promotion programmes. The membership is complimentary and registration can be done via www.matrade.gov.my.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2021, KUALA LUMPUR: As a continuous commitment to assist Malaysian SMEs in sustaining their operations and businesses during these challenging times, the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) leverage on digital platform in organising the recent virtual Export Acceleration Mission (EAM) to Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia.

The virtual EAM, which took place from 20 – 22 September 2021, brought onboard 13 Malaysian companies from various sectors such as food & beverages, lifestyles and building materials to participate in the mission. The programme provided an opportunity for Malaysian companies to expand their brands’ footprint in the market and build a business partnership with Indonesia’s business community amid uncertainty in the business environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to MATRADE’s Director of ASEAN & Oceania Section, YM Raja Badrulnizam Raja Kamalzaman, with more than 260 million population, Indonesia offers a huge market potential and business opportunities in nearly all economic sectors. Shifting in consumption pattern among the Indonesian consumers is visible, as increasing interest for global products and services imported from all over the world, including Malaysia can be seen throughout the country.

As the second largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta and one of the fastest growing economy with a vibrant business environment, Surabaya is not only a trade centre for East Java, but also a business hub for areas in Central Java and Eastern part of Indonesia.

Through MATRADE Jakarta office, Malaysian participants were matched with potential partners from Central and Eastern Java regions. A total of 76 business meetings were arranged with more than RM49.3 million of potential sales recorded. Blibli.com - one of the top 5 e-commerce platforms in Indonesia, was among the leading partners seeking for collaboration with Malaysian companies during the programme. It has 15 – 20 million monthly active users that at least make four purchases from the platform each month.

Briefing sessions through a webinar was also organised in collaborations with Indonesian authorities such as One-Door Integrated Investment Service Office (DPMPTSP), National Agency of Drug (BPOM) and Lembaga Pengkajian Pangan Obat-Obatan dan Kosmetika Majelis Ulama Indonesia (LPPOM-MUI), to equip Malaysian companies with relevant information on business and product registrations and entry requirements for Indonesia market.

 â€œAlthough with the new norms where business is no longer as usual, the response received from buyers in Indonesia indicates that there is still strong demand for Malaysian products and services. With the young and rising middle class population in Indonesia driving the buying trend, Malaysian companies could leverage on various cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Blibli.com and Bukalapak to access the Indonesian market without having a physical presence in the country.” Raja Badrulnizam said.

Moving forward, MATRADE will continue to facilitate Malaysian companies to increase their brand presence as well as to strengthen business connections with industry players in the targeted major cities in Indonesia. Malaysian companies who are keen in exploring or in expanding their presence in the Indonesian market are urged to contact MATRADE Jakarta at Alamat emel ini dilindungi dari Spambot. Anda perlu hidupkan JavaScript untuk melihatnya..

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021, CYBER JAYA: Since the inception of Services Export Fund (SEF) a programme by MATRADE, 330 Malaysian Service Providers (MSPs) have benefited from SEF with an amount of RM22.09 million disbursed and 684 applications approved as of 31 August 2021. SEF is aimed at providing financial assistance to undertake activities to expand and venture into the international market, said the Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Datuk Lim Ban Hong.

He said the SEF programme, with RM7.63 billion in export sales generated, will continue to assist the new companies to undertake 12 Activities under SEF with allocation ceiling of RM4.3 million per company.

“In order to increase more participation of this programme, 3 new activities were introduced under RMK12 such as training programmes, registration for industry certification, purchasing software and machinery to boost export of services,” he said so during his working visit to Vera Real Sdn.Bhd. one of the beneficiaries of the SEF this morning.

The company with 25 years in experience and expertise on Internet of Thing (IoT) research and development as well as consultancy services, has successfully gained market access into Australia, United Kingdom and Dubai. Some of the projects include the Precision Flood Prediction Ecosystem and the Smart Security IoT Tracking Alerting System.

Datuk Lim said the objective of the programme is to improve international competitiveness, increase accessibility, gain market access and to raise global awareness of MSPs.

“Activities claimable under SEF include setting up the office overseas, conducting feasibility studies, logistic cost, and preparation of prototype,” he said.