MALAYSIAN EXHIBITORS AT HANNOVER INDUSTRIAL FAIR AMID IMPROVED BUSINESS CLIMATE

HANNOVER, March 31 (Bernama)-- Malaysian exhibitors at this year's Hannover
Industrial Fair will be participating amidst an improved business climate.

A total of 16 exhibitors representing a cross-section of Malaysia’s
industrial landscape, will participate in the five-day fair, starting on April
3.
Their participation is under the aegis of the Federation of Malaysian
Manufacturers (FMM), in what is veritably, the world’s biggest industrial
exhibition.

The improved business climate is a welcome feature for the Malaysian
exhibitors, particularly in the traditional Western markets.

Indeed, this year’s fair is being held under signs considered to be "highly
promising", as the organiser, the Deutsche Messe AG, told Bernama.

Malaysia has built up over the years, a strong base in industrial
sub-contracting.

But it now has to also increasingly focus on the "burning issue" of energy
for industrial production and provide good solutions in this segment, to make
inroads into the world markets.

The crisis caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan has changed the
landscape of the Western industrial world, where there is tremendous
political pressure to develop and augment renewable energies devoid of the risks
posed by nuclear fare.

Malaysia has demonstrated that it can be a player in the energy sector, as
evident by its pioneering work in solar energy, which is attracting attention
from a number of German energy-producing companies.

The setting up of an operation in Malaysia by a leading German energy player
Q-Cells, is an eloquent testimony to the country's prowess in the production of
renewable energies.

More than 6,500 hi-tech companies from 65 countries will showcase their
innovations in the areas of machine-building, robotics and automation at the
fair.

The emphasis will be on green technology and the drive for electric
automobiles, which is seen by some, as a "vehicle of the present
and future".

While the 2009 event took place amidst a severe global economic crisis, the
2010 event was a washout as many exhibitors and visitors could not fly to
Hannover as a result of the Icelandic volcanic ash eruption.

This year, there have been cancellations by Japanese companies because of
the earthquake and tsunami followed by the explosions in the atomic
reactors.

Wolfram von Fritsch, the chairman of the fair organising agency, was
however, upbeat about the event, calling it a "barometer of the economic
upturn".

He pointed out that some 400 companies, that had dropped out in the past,
had returned to the show, reflecting a broad-based optimism.

The huge fair is sub-divided into 13 individual sections each of which is,
in itself, a major sub-fair.

Malaysian exhibitors would be interested in contacting energy giants such as
EnBW and Vattenfall who are returning to the show this year.

At Hannover, there will also be leading players from the wind, solar and
bioenergy industries. Another area, where Malaysia can make inroads into is,
electrical mobility.

Oliver Frese, who has been responsible for the planning and execution of the
fair’s concept, expects more than 200,000 visitors this year.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with French Premier Francois Fillon, will
inaugurate the opening of the Hannover Fair.