Annual Report 2017

15 O U R I N S T I T U T I O N In the last quarter of a century, with the assistance of smart and forward-looking development policies, Malaysia has made rapid economic strides in changing itself from an economy dependant on agricultural and mining activity to one where high-value manufacturing, heavy industry and services became the new drivers of growth. In the last quarter of a century, with the assistance of smart and forward-looking development policies, Malaysia has made rapid economic strides in changing itself from an economy dependant on agricultural and mining activity to one where high-value manufacturing, heavy industry and services became the new drivers of growth. Accompanying this transformation was a corresponding sea of change in the attitudes of manufacturers towards venturing abroad into untried and untested overseas markets. With this willingness to venture abroad has also come a broadening of production capacity and capability. At the same time, MATRADE’s role as a TPO has also had to change, moving from trade promotion to proactive trade intervention and migrating from conventional marketing methods and tactics to a more robust, hands-on and insight-filled approach in which data analytics is playing an ever increasing strategic role in trade promotion planning and execution. MATRADE’s role as the national TPO has seen us bring much needed focus, discipline and structure to Malaysia’s export promotion activities. For a start, MATRADE now provides holistic support, advice and market intelligence to exporters, from manufacturers of processed foods to producers of high value electronic components and service providers, at all points of the export process. Secondly, specialised services, like the Market Development Grant, Export Acceleration Missions, Go-Ex or Business Information Centre, developed by MATRADE means that we can address specific requirements and gaps in order to ensure Malaysian remain competitive while providing clear pathways to overseas markets and demand for their products and services.