MITI Expects Turkey's Financial Crisis To Impact Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 14 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) expects Malaysia to be impacted by the financial crisis in Turkey. Minister Darrel Leiking, said, however, the ministry would ensure Malaysia's trade with Turkey remained protected and would come up with solutions to help industries potentially affected by the crisis. "Whenever there is a financial crisis, it will have some impact. But, we are always ready and cautious about it," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Malaysia Aerospace Summit 2018 here Tuesday. He said the ministry would continue to monitor developments in Turkey. The Turkish lira has fallen 44 per cent to date this year to become the world's worst performing currency. Last year, Malaysia's trade with Turkey stood at RM12.06 billion (US$1 = RM4.10), up 43.8 per cent from 2016, while exports to Turkey grew 47 .1 per cent to RM10.51 billion as compared to the previous year. Imports increased 24.6 per cent to RM1.55 billion from 2016. Meanwhile, on the aerospace industry, Darell said the ministry is optimistic that Malaysia could become the leading aerospace nation in ASEAN by 2030 as set out in the Malaysian Aerospace Industry Blueprint 2030. "Apart from the capability of local companies to support the manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul activities, quality investments and strong market demand have also accelerated development of the local supply chain," he added. He said the industry has also seen a surge in investments in recent years with some multinationals establishing and expanding operations across a growing network of aerospace facilities. Last year, the Malaysian aerospace industry recorded total revenue of RM13.5 billion from RM12.7 billion in 2016 with exports growing 54 per cent to RM8.51 billion from the previous year. -- BERNAMA