SOUTHERN THAILAND GOOD PLACE TO INVEST FOR MALAYSIAN HALAL ENTREPRENEURS

By Kamarul Ariffin Md Yasin

HATYAI, Sept 23 (Bernama) -- Malaysian entrepreneurs, especially in the halal
industry, should consider investing in southern Thailand if they are looking at
higher production, says IMT-GT Joint Business Council Malaysia Chairman, Faudzi
Naim Noh.

He said players in the sector would be able to take advantage of the mass
production of abundant raw materials in the region and this would give them the
edge when competing in the global market.

Malaysian entrepreneurs are facing many problems such as getting land and raw
materials and in order to meet the demand from their clients, many of them
import the raw materials from southern Thailand at a cheaper price, he said.

"Thailand has proven track record in mass production of food products. Malaysia
on the other side, produces less but its halal products are more acceptable in
the global market and has the advantages in terms of recognition and
accreditation."

Against this backdrop, Malaysia would be able to depend on Thailand for the raw
materials and both the countries can complement each other in this sector, he
told Bernama at the sidelines of the Business Forum at the Lima Dasar (Five
Policies) Summit here Thursday.

The Business Forum was participated by members of the business chambers of
commerce from five Southern Thai provinces namely Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala,
Satun and Songkhla, and the business representatives from five states in
Malaysia namely Kedah, Perlis, Perak, Kelantan and Penang.

The meeting was chaired by the Committee on the Southern Economic
Development Area Chairman, Sirichai Pithicharoen, for Thailand while Faudzi
represented Malaysia.

Faudzi said Thursday's meeting identified five key areas for economic
cooperation which are halal industry, education, tourism, logistics and
investment.

However, the halal industry was a main discussion at the forum where Thailand,
like Malaysia, has been preparing to be a halal hub by the creation of several
Halal Industrial Zones.

The opportunities are plenty here, he said, adding that local businessmen should
also change their thinking where they would have to think in terms of
international market.

He said while Malaysia and Thailand had good cooperation through
Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT GT) and the Joint Development
Strategic Malaysia Thailand (JDS) but he believed the Lima Dasar, which focuses more
on cooperation between the private sectors of both countries, can complement IMT GT
and JDS.

The two-day summit started today with the business forum. It was initiated by
Thailand Ministry of Commerce with the support of the Ministry of International
Trade and Industry of Malaysia.
--BERNAMA