Focus On Niche Market Strengths To Expand In China, Malaysian Firms Told

By Samantha Tan Chiew Ting BEIJING, Dec 12 (Bernama) -- Malaysian firms should focus on their niche market strengths, namely in bird's nest, palm oil, fruits and halal products to further expand their presence in China. The Prime Minister's Special Envoy to China, Ong Ka Ting, said Malaysian companies should view China according to regions of different market needs for investment opportunities into the fast-developing nation. He said there were many niche markets of high value products that Malaysia was strong in such as bird's nest, palm oil extracts, fruits and halal products, that Chinese companies were keen to collaborate for trade and establishing processing plants in China. Furthermore, Ong said the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park had also set up a state level laboratory for testing as well as research and development for bird's nest as they see the potential in the high value health supplement. "For foreign direct investment opportunity into China, Malaysian firms should view China into regions of different market needs. Guangdong remains a strong manufacturing base with the highest gross domestic product. "The Muslim community region of Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia and Shaanxi with a combined population of 98.42 million holds a great potential for halal trade in view of Malaysia's advantage in well recognised halal certification globally. This region is yet to be fully tapped," Ong said in an email interview with Bernama on Saturday. He said China's One Belt, One Road initiative aimed to open up Xinjiang with a rail road to connect to Europe via west Asia, and east Europe is one of great interests that investors should look at seriously. "Likewise, the eastern region consisting of Zhejiang and Jiangsu which are strong in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), e-commerce and high-tech industries can collaborate with Malaysian SMEs. "Not forgetting the southern region such as Guangdong, Fujian and Guangxi that have strong historical ties with Malaysia, the current substantial Malaysian investment in this region should be maintained and strengthened further," Ong said. He said China's many initiatives including the Belt and Road and new type urbanisation that provided vast opportunities would not only spur more Chinese investments to Malaysia, but also help export quality technology and services from Malaysia to China. Ong said the Belt and Road initiative would help enhance investment in modern infrastructure and other advanced manufacturing industries, while the new type urbanisation in China would provide vast opportunities for Malaysian businesses especially in areas such as wastewater treatment, education, healthcare and food products. --BERNAMA