Annual Report 2017

122 MA T R A D E A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 7 Snapshot: • South Asia consists of eight countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka • The region boasts a collective population of over 1.8 billion. India alone accounts for about 70%of the population, while the combined population of Pakistan and Bangladeshmakes another 20%. • The power of the region’s huge population can be witnessed from its resilience in withstanding downside shocks caused by international market imbalances. South Asia remains resilient inmaintaining its spot as the fastest growing region in the world with a 7%growth in 2017. Domestic demand is poised to drive strong economic growth for the region. • In South Asia, Malaysia has bilateral trade agreements with India through theMalaysia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (MICECA) and with Pakistan through theMalaysia-Pakistan Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (MPCEPA). • Additionally, Malaysia has a regional trade agreement with India through the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA). • There is an abundance of untapped business opportunities in the region. Bearing inmind the importance of this region, theMinistry of International Trade & Industry (MITI) and its agencies have been consistent in approaching themarket through both trade & investment missions (TIM) and export accelerationmissions (EAM) to South Asia, especially to India. • MATRADEmanages export promotion throughout the South Asia region via its two offices inMumbai and Chennai. The offices regularly sends buyers from the region toMalaysia to meet Malaysian sellers/service providers duringmajor trade events such as theMalaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS), APHM International Healthcare Conference & Exhibition (by the Association of Private HospitalsMalaysia), International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference (IGEM), International ConstructionWeek (ICW), Offshore Technology Conference (OTCAsia), Oil &Gas Asia (OGA), Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) and Export Furniture Exhibition (EFE). South Asia Exports to South Asia accounted 5.3% of Malaysia’s total exports Key Potential INDIA India is the home to almost 1.3 billion people or 17%of the world’s total population. Forecasted to surpass China to become themost populous country in less than a decade, India has the largest pool of young workers in the world. The country’s youthful population – especially those belonging to themiddle-class society is hungry for affordable new technologies and ideas. The e-commerce andmobile technology boomhas been changing India’s landscape almost entirely. As of end-December 2017, India recorded 456millionmobile internet users of which young studentsmade up a substantial portion. The cashless economy is on the rise after the Indian Government’s demonetisationmove in November 2016. In the aftermath of the incident, even those from the low-end community such as the auto rickshaw drivers and barbers have started to display QR codes, accepting payments through mobile wallets, notably the Alibaba-backed Paytm. MATRADE through its eTRADE Programme has been collaborating with TradeIndia.com to promote business-to- business (B2B) e-commerce targeting the Indianmarket. Malaysian companies that have invested or are currently operating in India include PETRONAS, KhazanahNasional Bhd, Eversendai CorporationBhd, IHHHealthcare Bhd, Maybank, MKGroup, AxiataGroupBhd, UMWHoldings Bhd, Ingress CorporationBhd, IJMCorporationBhd, UEMGroupBhd, Sunway ConstructionGroupBhd, Scomi Engineering Bhd, TuneHotels, DXNMarketing SdnBhd and ThomyamFood Industries SdnBhd. • In 2017, Malaysia’s trade with India expanded by 26% to RM61.38 billion, accounting for 3.5% of Malaysia’s total trade. Being the largest economy in South Asia, India contributed 78% of total trade with the region. • Exports expanded by 7.9% to RM34.53 billion (2016: RM32 billion) while imports surged by 60.8% to RM26.85 billion (2016: RM16.7 billion). • Exports to India accounted for 3.7% of Malaysia’s global exports. Major export items were electrical & electronic (E&E) products, palm oil & palm oil-based agriculture products, crude petroleum, manufactures of metal and chemicals & chemical products. • Imports from India accounted for 3.2% of Malaysia’s total imports. The main import items were petroleum products, manufactures of metal, chemicals & chemical products, iron & steel products and machinery, equipment & parts.