Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation

THAILAND PROVES PROFITABLE FOR MALAYSIAN ICT COMPANIES

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, KUALA LUMPUR: Participation of Malaysian Information and Communications Technology  (ICT) companies in a recently held Specialised Marketing Mission (SMM) to Bangkok, Thailand, reaped a total of RM100 million sales in both actual and potential sales under negotiation.

The SMM – a signature programme of Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) – took place from 27 till 30 October 2015. It involved 18 Malaysian companies supplying various ICT services ranging from banking, financial services & insurance (BFSI), retail, security, agriculture, education to telecommunication. The sales outcome of the mission was a result 170 one-on-one business meetings organised by MATRADE for the Malaysian companies.

Director of Electrical & Electronic and ICT Section of MATRADE Puan Sharimahton Mat Salleh mentioned, “Thailand, as ASEAN’s second largest buyer of ICT products and services, is a market that needs to be on every Malaysian companies export destination. The healthy acceptance towards Malaysian ICT companies in the Thai market shows that there is growing demand for Malaysian ICT products and services, which are considered to be of high quality and delivery standards among the Thai buyers.”

“The business communities in Malaysia and Thailand  are encouraged to work and complement each other via strategic alliances so they could leverage on the opportunities available in both countries. Such strategic collaborations increase their chances to venture into the third countries around ASEAN, especially when the ASEAN Economic Community is materialising by end of this year,” she added.Through the SMM, it was also noted that the ICT services most sought after by thebuyers are those with value-added features such as telephony and data solutions,point-of-sales (POS) and talent outsourcing management.

In 2014, the total trade between Malaysia and Thailand was RM85.3 billion. Malaysia’s export to Thailand was RM43 billion and the top-three exported products to Thailand were petroleum products; machinery, appliances & parts; and electrical &electrical products. Of the amount, Malaysia exported RM4.1 billion worth of ICT products to Thailand last year. In the same year, Malaysia imported Thai products valued at RM42.3 billion among which were natural rubber, automotive parts andpetroleum products.