New Delhi – Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) together with Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) organised the Malaysia-India Business Forum on 3 April 2017, in conjunction with Malaysian Prime Minister’s official visit to India.
During the Forum, Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry delivered a presentation on ‘Doing Business in India and Malaysia’.
With a theme of ‘Leveraging Malaysia-India Strategic Partnership’, the objectives of the Forum
were to:
- Promote and highlight business and investment opportunities in Malaysia and India; and
- Provide a platform to discuss and exchange views on issues related to trade and investment and ways to enhance bilateral economic relations.
Participants listening attentively at the India Malaysia Business forum held in New Delhi….The Forum received overwhelming response, with the attendance of more than 400 participants, mainly prominent members of the Indian business community. The Malaysian business delegation comprising 100 representatives of companies including SMEs also participated to take advantage of the opportunity to network with Indian business community.
Among others, Minister Mustapa Mohamed briefed the participants on:
- Malaysia’s economic performance, trade and investment opportunities as well as the many investment incentives offered by Malaysia; and
- Trade and investment opportunities in both Malaysia and India.
The Business Forum was followed by the Business Luncheon graced by Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Razak and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman.
At the Business Luncheon, Najib and Mustapa Mohamed witnessed the exchange of 31 business Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with combined investments estimated at USD35.99 billion (RM159.26 billion). These MOUs are related to port construction, highways construction, solar power plant, development of smart city & technology Park, re-gasification terminal project, coconut & palm oil development, and higher learning education.
Significant MoUs include:
- Integrated maritime city on Carey Island Port Project between MMC Port Holdings Sdn. Bhd., Sime Darby Property Berhad and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited, worth US$22.78 billion for a 30-year period; and
- Carey Island Port Project between MMC and Adani worth US$9.39 billion.
A session themed “SMEs: Driving Economic Growth” was also held with about 50 important stakeholders within the SME business ecosystem in India as well as SMEs from Malaysia.
During the session, Malaysian Minister of Trade gave a strong signal on the prominence accorded by the Malaysian Government towards promoting trade and investment by SMEs between the two countries for a more inclusive economic growth.
The Indian delegation was led by the Shri Ravindra Nath, Chairman cum Managing Director of the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), India.
Also present were various leaders and representatives from important business associations namely the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Consortium of Indian Industries in Malaysia (CIIM). Present were Malaysian entrepreneurs who have been doing business in India and Indian SMEs that have been doing business in Malaysia who shared their respective experiences.
During the session, the Minister agreed that both SME Corp Malaysia and NSIC will be appointed as Focal Agencies to facilitate SMEs from both countries to do cross-border businesses. The two organisations are planning to sign a Memorandum of Understanding before the end of the year.
Malaysia-India CEO Forum
Malaysia-India CEO Forum (MICEOF) held a successful meeting in New Delhi on 31 March 2017. A range of issues of mutual interest were deliberated to resolve concerns faced by the business community. The Forum also prepared a road-map containing recommendations to further enhance trade ties between Malaysia and India including investment opportunities in infrastructure projects and collaboration between the two countries’ small and medium enterprises. The recommendations were presented to both Leaders on 1 April 2017.
In 2010, Malaysia and India have set a trade target of USD15 billion by 2015. This target was not met due to the global economic slowdown and the decline in commodity prices. However, both countries are confident this USD 15 billion target could be achieved in the next two to three years.
Trade with India accounted for 3.3% of Malaysia’s total global trade in 2016, amounting to USD10.77 billion (RM44.5 billion). In 2016, India was Malaysia’s 7th largest trading partner and 7th largest export destination globally. Malaysia was India’s 11th largest trading partner globally.
In terms of investment, Malaysian companies have a large presence in India. As at 2016, Malaysia’s investments in India amounted to US$4.5 billion. Meanwhile, Indian investment in Malaysia as at 2016 totaled US$1.5 billion. These indicate the importance of India to Malaysia.
-Bernama
