DSA 2010 RECORDS US$7.35 BLN WORTH OF CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS

KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 (Bernama) -- About RM25 billion (US$7.35
billion)worth of contracts and agreements were signed at the Defence Services
Asia (DSA) 2010 exhibition and conference which ended here Thursday, the highest
amount since the event was launched in 1988.

From the total, RM15 billion (US$4.4 billiobn) came from an agreement
between Russia's Irkut Aviation Corporation, which manufactures modern jet
fighters, and the Defence Ministry.

Under the agreement, Irkut will be involved in supplying spare parts and
weapon systems, and producing aerospace components for the local and
international markets.

In addition, 20 agreements worth RM10.355 billion (US$3 billion) were signed
by the ministry and related agencies with 11 companies, including five foreign
firms, during the four-day event.

The agreements comprised eight contracts, five memorandums of understanding
(MoUs), three letters of agreement (LOAs) and four letters of intent (LOIs).

"The figure (US$7.35 billion) is the highest recorded in the organising of
the series," Defence Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said at a press
conference at the Putra World Trade Centre here Thursday.

Zahid said that Irkut had also proposed to set up a component and spare part
facility which would be built soon.

"Through this collaboration, Malaysia will not only be getting benefit from
the huge investment but also from the sharing of expertise and transfer of
technology," he said.

Zahid said he was pleased that the participation of local companies in the
biennial event had increased by 300 per cent, which would help in the growth of
the defence industry.

"This year 250 local companies took part compared to only 61 companies two
years ago," he said.

Zahid attributed the drop in the participation of foreign companies to
several factors, including the global economic environment and difficulties in
getting flights.

This year, only 500 foreign companies took part compared to 657 firms at DSA
2008.

"To ensure that this problem does not occur at DSA 2012, I will be having
face-to-face communication and visits to Europe and Asia to promote the event,"
he said.

"The organisers should also plan their promotion and marketing strategy
earlier to attract foreign participation," he added.

Overall, DSA 2010 which started on April 19 had attracted the participation
of 22 countries, with most of them from Europe as well as Australia.

DSA Exhibition and Conference Sdn Bhd's director Azzat Kamaludin said the
four-day event had attracted about 26,000 visitors from 60 countries.

Despite the challenges faced by several overseas participants, especially
those from Europe, who eventually managed to fly in despite the flight woes
caused by the ash volcanic, Azzat said the event had succeeded in providing the
platform for successful networking, business collaborations and strategic
alliances.

"By all accounts and based on feedback received, it was a very successful
and fruitful event for exhibitors and trade visitors alike," he said in a
statement Thursday.
-- BERNAMA


Attachments:
untitled-[2] 7.3