Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation

FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2015 KUALA LUMPUR: Realising the vast opportunities in the Middle East’s healthcare industry, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) will be organising a Specialised Marketing Mission on Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (in conjunction with Saudi Health Exhibition) and to Doha, Qatar. The event will be held from 17 to 20 May 2015.

Companies participating in the event will promote products such as hospital furniture, various medical and surgical disposable products and medical tubing. The mission will include one-on-one business meetings between Malaysian delegations with potential importers/ buyers, traders and distributors as well as visitations to market places and trade exhibitions.

According to one of the Malaysian participants, Foresight Industries Sdn Bhd, the objective of their participation is to seek more representatives in Saudi Arabia for their products as well as to expand their business in the Middle East region. For the Middle East market, the company focuses on marketing its IV Dressing, Wound Dressing and Bone Graft Products.

Another participant, LKL Advance Metaltech Sdn Bhd, its involvement in the mission is motivated by the company’s objective to go global and to generate business leads apart from creating brand awareness and seeking potential partnership for their brand in the Middle East.

The market for medical devices & products is one of the largest growing segments of the healthcare industry in Saudi Arabia. The sector is booming due to the government health care plan introduced in the Kingdom. The Saudi Arabia Healthcare market was worth US$28.99 billion in 2014. The future of this industry remains buoyant and is growing at a CAGR of around 15 percent until 2020. The optimistic outlook for the growth of the industry is supported by the increasing high rate of growth of the health insurance industry, which would boost the spending on medical products and devices.

Meanwhile for Qatar, the rising demand for health care combined with the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme (Seha) is set to boost Qatar’s medical products’ segment. Health care spending in Qatar and across the Gulf region is projected to maintain strong growth for the foreseeable future, as populations increase and as non-communicable diseases (generally associated with more sedentary lifestyles) become more prevalent. In 2014, the Qatar healthcare market was worth at QAR18.33 billion (US$5.04 billion).

MATRADE as Malaysia’s trade promotion agency will continue to render its assistance in ensuring a continued presence as Malaysian enterprises at the regional and world’s leading events for medical devices and pharmaceuticals industry. Such an effort is to promote market immersion for Malaysian companies.

To drive exports in healthcare and medical products, MATRADE will be spearheading participation of Malaysian companies in Medical Fair Thailand 2015 from 10-12 September 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand, CPhI Worldwide 2015 in Madrid, Spain from 13-15 October 2015 - specifically for pharmaceutical products - and MEDICA 2015 in Dusseldorf, Germany from 16-19 November 2015.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) is leading the participation of 23 Malaysian exhibitors to SIAL China today until May 8, 2015 at Shanghai New International Expo Centre. This year marks MATRADE‟s 9th participation in SIAL China, which theme is „Connecting Asian Markets with Energy’.

Malaysian companies participating in the exhibition include manufacturers of beverages, functional and frozen food, bakery product, food ingredients, confectionery and ready-to-eat products such as Jacker, Dailyfresh and Pacific West.

According to Mansor Shah Wahid, Trade Commissioner in MATRADE Shanghai, “SIAL China gathers players from retail, catering, food services and manufacturers from many countries. There are 2,734 exhibitors and more than 55,000 visitors from all over the world expected to attend the exhibition. The event offers a good platform to highlight the strengths and capabilities of the Malaysian food and beverage industry and expose the local players to the trends and requirements of exporting to China.”

In 2014, Malaysia exported RM1.15 billion worth of processed food to China - an increase of 3.3 per cent compared to 2013. Major exports of processed food products include edible products and preparations, cocoa and cocoa preparations as well as prepared cereals and flour. China‟s growing middle class consumers and increasing preference for imported food products generate steady demand for Malaysia‟s processed food. Held annually, SIAL China is considered the leading and fastest growing food show in Asia and has become a global brand for food players as well as distributors to converge and discuss trade opportunities.

SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015 KUALA LUMPUR: As an initiative to drive exports of services, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) is organising Malaysia Services Exhibition (MSE) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 11 untill 14 May 2015. The event will be held in conjunction with the Saudi Building and Interiors Exhibition at Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events.

The participation is MATRADE’s second involvement in Saudi Building and Interiors Exhibition through its signature MSE platform. 18 Malaysian companies comprising established players from the construction industry, project management firms, architectural firms and suppliers of building materials as well as electrical and electronics for residential and industrial applications will be participating in this event. Malaysian services to be showcased include construction and its related services, engineering services, architectural services, project management services and landscaping works including playground design and installations.

Considered as an effort to improve market immersion among the local companies, MATRADE will be arranging business meetings between the Malaysian participants with selected Saudi enterprises and visits to members of Chambers of Commerce Jeddah. Complementing the meetings are meetings with projects’ owners and follow-up discussions between several local companies and their existing clients.

As Saudi Arabia continues with its modernisation and development of residential and commercial areas, MSE Jeddah is the avenue for Malaysian exporters to access the vibrant and lucrative construction and interior management businesses in the Kingdom. In MATRADE’s first participation in Saudi Building and Interiors Exhibition last year, a total of RM895.19 million worth of businesses were recorded for the Malaysian participants, especially in the exports of building materials and construction-related services. The Saudi construction sector should see growth returning strongly in 2015, with an estimated 10% expansion, according to Business Monitor International (BMI) in its ‘Saudi Arabia Infrastructure Report Q1 2014′. Several developmental projects with a total value of US$ 3.5 billion have been finalised for the current fiscal year. There is an abundance of opportunities for Malaysian exporters in Saudi Arabia. Jeddah Municipality has finalised 29 projects and is working on 142 projects. Nineteen projects have been approved for this year for a total of US$ 507 million. Fifteen electricity and strategic storing projects are ready to serve Jeddah residents while 33 projects are still under construction, 18 water projects are in need while 7 new projects have been approved for this year. Some 28 projects have been finalised in the environment sector, 59 still in process and 10 new approved projects for this year.

In 2014, total bilateral trade between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia was valued at RM13.09 billion. Malaysia’s exports to Saudi Arabia were recorded at RM3.84 billion and among the main exported products included electrical and electronic goods, valued at RM696.2 million; machinery, appliances and parts (RM676.7 million); manufactures of metal (RM415.5 million); palm oil (RM346.1 million) and wood products (RM295.5 million). Malaysia imported mainly crude petroleum from Saudi Arabia, which was valued at RM4.53 billion, chemicals and chemical products (RM3.07 billion), petroleum products (RM1.35 billion) and manufactures of metal (RM0.19 billion).

TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2015 KUALA LUMPUR: The 12th Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS 2015) which wrapped up recently recorded an impressive RM 1.1 billion in total sales. The event was part of the inaugural World Halal Summit 2015 (WHS 2015) and was jointly organised by Malaysia External Trade and Development Corporation (MATRADE) and managed by Shapers Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

RM655.8 million in sales were generated from the showcase and the remaining RM 443.2 million came from MIHAS 2015’s annual one-day Incoming Buying Mission (IBM) – a business matching session arranged between international buyers and local enterprises.

The IBM this year attracted 427 foreign buyers from 307 companies who came from 41 countries. A total of 2,787 pre-arranged business meetings were held between the international companies and 850 Malaysian exporters from 465 local companies.

MIHAS 2015, with 549 local and international exhibitors from 20 countries, attracted 23,107 trade visitors throughout the four-day trade show – an increase of 10.4 per cent from MIHAS 2014. The number of international visitors also increased significantly by 62.3 percent to 2,507 while local visitors grew by 6.3 percent to 20,600.

The outcomes of the event are:

ï‚· The food and beverage sector continued to dominate the event with the processed food and ready to eat products cluster recorded the highest sales at RM135.09 million, followed closely by the frozen food category with RM116.56 million.

ï‚· The healthcare, pharmaceuticals and Halal non-food products have emerged as a promising new sector in the Halal industry, with sales reaching RM111.74 million

ï‚· Amongst the highest number of international exhibitors showcasing their goods and services were Thailand, Indonesia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, China and Taiwan.

The strong sales affirm the trade fair’s position as a platform that stimulates business interest among local and international companies as well as an avenue to promote a wide range of Halal products and services.

Dato’ Dzulkifli Mahmud, Deputy CEO of MATRADE said, “MATRADE, as Malaysia’s trade promotion agency will continue to promote Halal and its products and services to markets abroad. We are working closely with our partner countries including those in ASEAN, Europe, Africa, Korea and Japan to provide more information about the importance and benefits of using Halal products and services. I believe this event gave an excellent positive overview of Malaysia’s Halal industry.”

Other than MIHAS 2015, WHS 2015 was complemented by a range of conferences among which were the Certifiers Forum, Academics Forum, Scholars Forum and Business Forum. WHS 2015 was indeed an insightful and highly constructive platform, with 82 speakers and panellists from 18 countries congregated to discuss topics of real concern, showcase new research and encourage innovation in the Halal industry as well as to highlight more opportunities in the industry.

The topics chosen were timely and hit the right note in finding an ideal narrative for the ecosystem’s next phase of growth. The discussion has evolved from just Halal issues and standards to other wider areas including global regulatory frameworks, new research topics, risk management, innovative crowdfunding options, e-commerce as well as digital marketing skills for the Halal industry.

Held from 30th March till 4thApril 2015 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Malaysia, WHS 2015 was hosted Ministry of International Trade and Industry and was jointly organised by MATRADE, the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) and Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC).WHS 2015’s partners include International Islamic University of Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi MARA.