High Time For Malaysian Businesses To Invest In Ukraine, Says President

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 (Bernama) -- It is high time for Malaysian businesses to invest in Ukraine and take advantage of the country's free trade agreement with the European Union (EU), said its President Petro Poroshenko. He said the Malaysian businesses would benefit from the low-cost production facilities that were close to the EU market. "Delivering the goods to the European hubs from Ukraine takes two days versus using the shipping containers from Asia which takes 40 days," he said in his keynote address at the Malaysia-Ukraine Business Forum and Luncheon 2016 here Thursday. The luncheon, organised by National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCIM) and the Ukraine embassy here, is part of Poroshenko's second day programme for his three-day visit here. He is accompanied by his wife Maryna Poroshenko. Poroshenko said businesses operating in Ukraine would get the opportunity to sell their goods to the EU almost duty-free and enjoy lower costs of trade considering the elimination of the majority of tariffs on trade. "It is high time for investors here to invest in Ukraine because there are a lot of opportunities in different sectors of the economy. "For example, we are constantly intensifying our agricultural practices. We are among the top three world exporters for grain and we are keen on using Malaysia as a gateway to enter Asian market," he said. The president said Malaysia was currently Ukraine's top 10 trading partner in the Asia-Pacific. Meanwhile, NCCIM Vice-President, Jalilah Baba, said with the exposure from the luncheon Thursday, there were an increasing number of Malaysian businesses realising the huge opportunity offered by Ukraine. She said the main attractive points for them were the liberalisation of rules and regulations for doing business there, as well as, the opening up of the country's manufacturing and services sectors. "We're already planning to bring a delegation of our members to Ukraine during Prime Minister Najib Razak's next visit there, to explore business opportunities there and bring our products for exports," she told reporters. -- BERNAMA