MALAYSIAN BUSINESSES SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AANZ-FTA

HUA HIN (THAILAND), Feb 27 (Bernama) -- The Asean Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Australia and New Zeland (AANZ-FTA), which was sealed Friday provides an excellent opportunity to the business community in Malaysia to explore and expand businesses with their counterparts in Australia and New Zealand.

Malaysia will also benefit from the economic cooperation activities
under the AANZ FTA in terms of capacity building in the areas of services,
investment, intellectual property, sectoral integration, rules of origin,
sanitary and phytosanitary and customs, said the Ministry of International Trade
and Industry (MITI) in a statement released here, Friday.

The agreement, which will come into force on July 1, 2009, was signed by
Minister of International Trade and Industry, Muhyiddin Yassin, Minister
of Trade Australia, Simon Crean, Minister of Trade Australia, Tim Groser and
other Asean Economic ministers.

The regional FTA will further stimulate Malaysia's intra-Asean exports, as
well as exports to Australia and New Zealand.

Total trade between Malaysia and Australia in 2008 increased to RM36.2
billion (US$1=RM3.66) from RM30.6 billion in 2007. Total exports and imports in
2008 were RM24.4 billion and RM11.8 billion, respectively.

Total trade between Malaysia and New Zealand in 2008 amounted to RM6.2
billion with exports and imports of RM3.6 billion and RM2.6 billion,
respectively.

-- BERNAMA