BERNAMA NEWS
FRIDAY, 26 OCTOBER 2007
Source From Malaysia, Rafidah Tells French Businessmen
From Leslean Arshad
PARIS, Oct 25 (Bernama) -- International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz has urged the French business community to source halal products from Malaysia to serve the Muslim market.
She said French businessmen could also enter into joint ventures with Malaysian counterparts to cater to its Muslim community of seven million and those in the European Union and the Francophone countries.
"Halal products and services are not only for Muslim consumers but also non-Muslims because they meet global standards of quality, product and service integrity, and conform to the market requirements, such as those pertaining to responsible care for the environment and safety standards," she told a seminar on business opportunities in Malaysia here Thursday.
Rafidah is leading a 35-member delegation on a ten-day mission to Paris, Frankfurt and Zurich.
She said the Malaysian halal standard and the halal logo reflected both the requirements of the syariah laws and regulations pertaining to products and services, as well as market place requirements.
Rafidah told the French-based entities to take advantage of Malaysia's well-developed Islamic banking facilities.
"They can use Malaysian banks as a channel to access Islamic banking and financial markets in Asia and other parts of the world especially in West Asia.
"The facilities will also provide them the linkages through Islamic financing to support the increasing trade and investment flows between the Gulf states and the rest of the world," she said.
She said French companies could also to take advantage of the facilities in the Labuan International Offshore Financial Centre (IOFC) to promote financial offshore products and services.
A total of 22 French companies are in Labuan IOFC, comprising four banks, three insurance, one leasing and 14 offshore trading companies.
They include BNP Paribas, Calyon, C.C.R. and SCOR Reinsurance Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd.
Rafidah Invites French Firms To Malaysia's Strategic Sectors
From Leslean Arshad
PARIS, Oct 25 (Bernama) -- International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz has invited French companies to invest in Malaysia's high value-added and technology intensive manufacturing sectors.
The areas which offer opportunities for French investment include pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, automotive components and machinery & equipment, she told a seminar here Thursday on business opportunities in Malaysia.
She said French pharmaceutical companies are encouraged to explore investment opportunities in generic drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients manufacturing and outsourcing their manufacturing operations to Malaysian companies.
She spoke of the Malaysian government's various incentives for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and related products as well as the development, testing and production of pharmaceuticals.
In addition, she said, seven clinical trial centres and seven bioequivalent centres have been established for drug testing.
To date, there are 235 registered pharmaceutical companies with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) accreditation in Malaysia, including 148 companies producing traditional medicines in the pharmaceutical sector.
Rafidah said Malaysia also welcomes French firms, well known for R&D activities in biotechnology, to collaborate with Malaysia in the field.
She told the seminar participants that Malaysia is promoting the biotechnology industry to capitalise on its status as one of the 12 mega biodiversity centres in the world.
The areas being promoted for biotechnology include food and agro-biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals such as antibodies and vaccines, and biodiagnostics.
"Companies in France are invited to work with Malaysian companies, universities and venture capital firms in the development of the industry and take advantage of the abundant natural resources in the country," she said.
Rafidah said French automotive manufacturers are encouraged to explore investment opportunities in the automotive components industry in Malaysia to cater for the fast growing regional markets.
She said French manufacturers could also enter into technical collaboration with Malaysian automotive component manufacturers, particularly in new areas of growth such as electronic automotive components, engines and transmission parts.
Combined new vehicle sales in the four main Asean automotive markets - Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines - totalled 1.59 million units in 2006, with Malaysia capturing almost half of the region's passenger market share.
Rafidah described the machinery and equipment sector as another targeted growth area as Malaysia aims to be the regional production hub for high technology and specialised machinery including machine tools, plastic injection machinery, packaging machinery, materials handling equipment and factory automation machinery.
-- BERNAMA
Don't Speculate On Currencies, Focus On Business, Says Rafidah
From Leslean Arshad
PARIS, Oct 26 (Bernama) -- The private sector has been warned not to indulge in currency speculation as their businesses could go bust if they get caught by volatile exchange rate movements.
In sounding out the alarm, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said they should instead focus on generating profits from their business operations.
Urging businesses not to stray away from their core operations, products and services, she said "if it (ringgit) opens today at 3.6 but tomorrow at 4.0, then you are dead."
The private sector should now learn to manage the little fluctuations of the ringgit and stop complaining about being "so used" to the ringgit being pegged at 3.8 to the dollar, the minister said.
It would be a bonus if the currency "works for you" but it should be factored in if it "works against you," she said during a "Seminar on Business Opportunities in Malaysia" attended by over 300 French businessmen in the French capital Thursday.
"You have to learn (that) you cannot profit by currency speculation or currency fluctuation. You have to profit because of business operations," said Rafidah, who is leading a trade mission to Paris, Frankfurt and Zurich.
The minister's remarks come just as Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz hinted in a media interview in Washington earlier this week that Malaysia might allow offshore trading in the ringgit when the country has a very developed and vibrant foreign exchange market and the financial infrastructure in place.
Malaysia's biggest fear with the flotation of the ringgit was speculation activities, as was the case before the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis when unscrupulous hedge funds attacked the Thai baht in July 1997.
This precipitated the crisis which led to Malaysia imposing capital controls including banning offshore trading of the ringgit and pegging it against the dollar at 3.80.
The peg was lifted in July 21, 2005. The ringgit is currently on an uptrend and trading at 3.34 to the greenback.
"Our biggest fear is once we float the currency again, then speculation would be coming in. (There would be) buying and selling of the ringgit, so much so that it won't be trading in the product but trading in money."
"Currency is about facilitating trading, currency is about paying for imports and exports. Once currency becomes a commodity, it moves away from its original function," she said.
-- BERNAMA
Government Mulls Allowing State-level Industry Union For Electronic Industry
From Leslean Arshad
PARIS, Oct 26 (Bernama) -- Malaysia may allow the establishment of state-level industry unions for the electronics sector but the restriction on the formation of a nationwide industry union will remain.
"Nationwide, for electronics, no. State (level) we are thinking about it," International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said during a question and answer session at a "Seminar on Business Opportunities in Malaysia" here Thursday.
Rafidah, who is leading a trade mission to Paris, Frankfurt and Zurich, said a nationwide industrial union could cause an industry strike following broad-based support and sympathy towards members' industrial plight.
Citing an example, she said the industrial relations of a small electronics company with 100 employees should not be treated similarly to a corporation with 3,000 employees.
"If you have an industry union, when one small company has problems in relation to the employees, they bring in the whole industry to go on strike.
"(Corporations like) Alcatel and Motorola will get into trouble as well because their workers will also show sympathy and engage in an industry-wide strike," she said.
Rafidah said that electronics companies were however, free to have their own in-house unions so that each company could deal directly with their employees' problems.
"If I have my company, my employees should talk to me and not to others. Talk to me, let's discuss, contracts, bargaining or whatever. In-house unions for your own workers, that we encourage, it's good," said Rafidah.
-- BERNAMA
Malaysia Eyes Trade Boost With France
From Leslean Arshad
PARIS, Oct 25 (Bernama) -- Although bilateral trade between Malaysia and France is growing, Malaysia does not want to rest on its laurels as there is still room for expansion.
International Trade and Industry Minister, Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, said with the bilateral trade only accounting for 1.5 percent of Malaysia's global trade in 2006, the country was seriously committed to better the figure.
"Clearly, there is much room for trade expansion. One way to increase trade opportunities is to increase awareness and contacts among the business communities of both countries," she told a seminar on business opportunities in Malaysia here today.
The over 400 members of the French business community braved the chilling weather to attend the seminar to get their first-hand account on Malaysia's development from Rafidah.
Rafidah is leading a 35-member delegation on a ten-day mission to Paris and Frankfurt and Zurich.
Malaysia's total trade with France in 2006 was valued at US$4.26 billion (US$1=RM3.36) with exports amounting to US$2.17 billion, registering an increase of 18.6 per cent compared with 2005.
The main export was electrical and electronic (E&E)products, which increased by 20.9 per cent to US$1.66 billion with a share of 76.7 percent of the total exports.
Other exports included crude rubber (US$78.2 million), rubber products (US$67.6 million), textiles and clothing (US$50.7 million), and machinery, appliances & parts (US$33.9 million).
Imports from France amounted to US$2.1 billion in 2006 compared with US$1.49 billion in 2005.
In 2006, France was ranked the fifth largest investor from the European Union (EU), with total approved investments in the manufacturing sector of US$23.2 million.
Rafidah said Malaysia and France should work together to take advantage of the developments in trade and investment within the regions that each country served competitively.
"France has the regional reach to the EU and northern Africa and Malaysia to Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean), East Asia and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference countries," she said.
She said trade developments in Asean would provide opportunities for Malaysian and French companies to work together to optimise the benefits from the enlarged regional markets.
"The opportunities will also be created as Asean and the EU have agreed to engage in free trade agreement talks," she said.
Rafidah also invited French businessmen to participate in the coming INTRADE Malaysia 2007, which will be held from Nov 12-15 in Kuala Lumpur.
The exhibition, organised by Matrade, will provide opportunities for companies to exhibit their products and services.
-- BERNAMA