JETRO COMMITTED TO PROMOTE MSIAN AUTO INDUSTRY

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah

TOKYO, March 11 (Bernama) -- Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) is
fully committed to promoting the Malaysian automotive industry in Japan,
an official with its Trade Fair Division, Kohei Wakabayashi said.

"We know that it is very difficult to sell Proton cars for instance but we
will try our best to ensure that the Malaysian companies are able to penetrate
their products into Japan," he told Bernama here.

The Malaysian Auto Exhibition, to be held concurrently in the 8th
International Auto Aftermarket Expo 2009 (IAAE) here Thursday, is expected to be
one such platform which will expose the Malaysian auto industry players to their
Japanese counterparts, Wakabayashi said.

Proton including 11 Malaysian parts manufacturers were invited to
participate in the (IAAE) by Jetro.

Jetro, in collaboration with the Malaysian External Trade Development
Corporation (Matrade), is assisting Malaysian parts manufacturers at the
exhibition by giving them an opporunity to forge partnerships with Japanese
firms.

According to Wakabayashi, this year's auto exhibition will be the third
time it is being held during the IAAE.

This year, Jetro has also organised business matching sessions between the
Malaysian and Japanese companies.

In the previous years, the business matchings were not made with big
companies but this year, it will include established Japanese companies such as
the Hitachi Group, Wakabayashi said.

The auto exhibition is part of the Malaysia Japan Automotive Industry
Cooperation, or MAJAICO Project.

It is part of the Economic Partnership Agreement between Japan and Malaysia
sealed in July 2006.

IAAE 2009, which will be held at the Tokyo International Exhibition Centre,
or Tokyo Big Sight, will gather experts and representatives from car-related
businesses in Japan and across the world who will update each other and share
views on business trends.

Apart from the auto exhibition, Wakabayashi said a seminar would also be
held in conjunction with the event.

National car maker, Proton Holdings Bhd, will exhibit its Saga model during
the auto exhibition.

-- BERNAMA