Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation

YBHG. DATO’ DZULKIFLI MAHMUD,

Chief Executive Officer of MATRADE,

YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed,

Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI),

YB Dato’ Seri Ong Ka Chuan,

Minister of International Trade and Industry II,

YB Dato’ Lee Chee Leong,

Deputy Minister (Trade) of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry,

YB Datuk Haji Ahmad Bin Haji Maslan,

Deputy Minister (Industry) of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry,

YBhg. Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria,

Secretary General of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry,

Distinguished Guests,

Our media friends,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Assalammualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh,

Selamat Pagi dan Salam 1 Malaysia.

Welcome to Export Day 2016, an event proudly brought to you by MATRADE. Themed as ‘Go The Extra Mile’, you can expect to have a better understanding on MATRADE’s initiatives for this year, on the global economic outlook, SME Financing Ecosystem & Landscape in Malaysia, the latest trade financing available for SMEs and you will also get to learn from a few notable Malaysian companies who are here today to share their success stories in export. I hope their stories can inspire you to take the first step into export.

2. Before I go further, I would like to express my appreciation to Malaysian business community who have participated and supported our programmes in 2015. Last year, we had successfully completed 115 export promotion programmes.

Ladies and gentlemen,

3. MATRADE’s focus for many years has always been on the SMEs. SMEs are the backbone of our economy and the growth of SMEs is vital to Malaysia’s trade and export performance. In the SME Masterplan, SME’s contribution in export in expected to rise to 23 percent in 2020 from the current 19 percent share. Hence, we would like to urge more SMEs especially the Bumiputera, Women and Youth companies to register as a MATRADE member and engage with us to expand your business globally. I would like to remind you that MATRADE’s services such as our export advisory services, market intelligence, business matching and capacity building trainings are all FREE of charge.

4. After 23 years in operation, MATRADE has evolved tremendously and has developed itself as the export solution for SMEs. We facilitate and support the development of SMEs abroad via our various programmes and funding assistance such as Market Development Grant and Services Export Fund. Complementing these are our extensive global network of 46 MATRADE’s overseas office.

Ladies and gentlemen,

5. We understand that your export journey can be challenging especially with the current economic landscape where there is a huge decline in commodity prices, currency fluctuations and many other external factors. But I believe that an optimist will always find an opportunity in any given situation and we at MATRADE believe that we can work together to discover all these opportunities in export together. Our famous tagline that is being widely used at the moment ‘The Time To Export Is Now’ is truly what SMEs must remember.

Tuan – tuan dan Puan – Puan,

6. Tahun 2016 akan terus menyaksikan cabaran pertumbuhan ekonomi di samping arus globalisasi dan liberalisasi pasaran. Sejajar dengan Ekonomi Global & Senario Perdagangan, Rancangan Malaysia ke-11, Majlis Eksport Negara, dan Keupayaan Eksport, MATRADE telah merancang 150 program untuk tahun 2016, di mana 85 adalah program promosi perdagangan dan 65 merupakan program pembangunan pengeksport.

7. Perancangan program MATRADE 2016 ini akan memberi tumpuan kepada membangunkan kapasiti eksport terutamanya dalam pembangunan PKS, memanfaatkan platform e-dagang dan mensasarkan sektor bernilai tinggi seperti minyak & gas, aeroangkasa, maritim dan MRO, perubatan, elektrik & elektronik, pembinaan dan perkhidmatan professional.

8. Program berimpak tinggi MATRADE seperti Mid-Tier Companies Development Programme, Go-Ex, eTRADE serta program yang dikhaskan untuk Bumiputera, Wanita dan Belia akan terus dilaksanakan oleh MATRADE pada tahun 2016.

9. Sebagai langkah menyokong manfaat TPPA yang akan dibentang di Dewan Rakyat dan Dewan Negara bermula 26 Jan (untuk membincangkan penyertaan Malaysia dalam TPPA), MATRADE akan mengambil langkah yang agresif dalam membantu PKS menembusi pasaran negara-negara TPPA. Antara strategi yang akan diambil oleh MATRADE adalah dengan menyediakan lebih banyak Program Pembangunan Kapasiti kepada Pengeksport Malaysia, memperkukuh dan meningkatkan program-program eksport promosi di negara-negara TPPA, dan strategi outreach di pasaran sasaran.

Ladies and gentlemen,

10. I would like to encourage all Malaysian companies to participate and leverage on the numerous programmes organised by MATRADE. Make use of our international MATRADE’s offices around the world to find your global buyers.

11. I wish to thank YB Dato Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry who will be launching this event in just a while. To all the participants, thank you for taking the time to be part of our Export Day 2016 and I wish you all the best in your business endeavor. Not forgetting our special thanks to the event’s co-sponsors EXIM Bank, MIDF and SME Bank. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your continuous support in ensuring the success of this program today. Also, thank you to NCCIM, PPIBM and GMB for your willingness to collaborate with us.

Good luck and have a good time here at MATRADE’s Export Day 2016.

Thank you.