Blueprint To Spur Trade, Investment Between Malaysia & Philippines

From Nurul Jannah Kamaruddin MANILA, March 8 (Bernama) -- The Malaysia-Philippines Business Council (MPBC) and the Philippines-Malaysia Business Council (PMBC) will develop a five-year blueprint to give a fresh impetus to both countries' trade and investment. International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said the blueprint would also further raise the visibility of both countries. "I hope both countries will contribute inputs for the blueprint," he said after chairing a meeting between both councils here Wednesday. The MPBC representatives are from AlloyMtd Group, Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd, Halal Industry Development Corporation and Alumni Institute of Malaysia while the PMBC are represented by San Miguel Corp, Makati Business Club and Maybank ATR Kim End Securities. Mustapa said both countries should focus on sectors which Malaysia's excel in such as halal, finance and services industries. "We will share our knowledge with the Philippines. I have suggested to them to focus on small and medium enterprise development and to engage an intern per company. "This is to allow young Malaysians to work together with our Philippines counterparts and vice-versa. "This is important as ASEAN is getting more integrated. I anticipate more businesses to be conducted in this region and it is vital for youngsters to understand the culture, language and companies of various ethnicities," he said after attending the launch of AlloyMtd Group's mini Putrajaya project in Palayan. Mustapa, is on a working visit to Manila in conjunction with the 23rd Asean Economic Minister retreat held here from March 8 to 10. He said last year, the Philippines economy grew almost seven per cent and in the next five years, it was expected to grow more than 6.5 per cent per annum. "There is a lot of developments going on here especially in the infrastructure sector and I foresee Malaysia to capitalise on them. "In Malaysia, we are also going through massive transformation and this will be good for both countries," he said. Meanwhile on bilateral trade, Mustapa said total bilateral trade, last year, amounted to RM20.24 billion (US$1 = RM4.45), an of 2.7 per cent over RM19.71 billion registered in 2015. He said exports registered a growth of 3.6 per cent to RM13.64 billion while imports stood at RM6.6 billion, up one per cent. "Overall, Malaysia's trade surplus rose 6.1 per cent to RM7.05 billion from RM6.65 billion previously. "Among products exported to the Philippines are electrical and electronics goods, palm oil and chemical based products, machineries and processed food while items imported included electrical and electronics goods, chemical based products, natural rubbers, processed food, optical and scientific equipment," he added. -- BERNAMA