Malaysia keen on boosting trade ties with Oman

By A Staff Reporter

MUSCAT Malaysia is keen to cooperate with Omani companies to further develop oil and gas sector in the Sultanate besides enhancing bilateral trade and investment in construction, tourism, ICT, health and education sectors, Rafidah Aziz, Malaysia’s Minister of International Trade and Industry said on Saturday.

“Oman is Malaysia’s third largest trading partner among members of GCC. And Omani-Malaysian trade volume grew from RO14.5 million in 1995 to RO0.40 billion in 2006. And during this period, Malaysia’s exports to the Sultanate increased from RO10 million to RO41 million and imports expanded from RO0.65 million to RO363.3 million,” Rafidah, who is leading a Malaysian Trade and Investment Mission to the Sultanate, said while addressing a seminar on ‘Malaysia-Oman Business Opportunities’. Though the volume of trade is increasing, it is relatively small, making up only 0.3 per cent of Malaysia’s total trade.

Exports to Oman account for less than 1 per cent of Malaysia’s total exports. There are immense opportunities for Omani companies to source more products and services from Malaysia.

The Sultanate, she said, has embarked on large scale tourism projects such as The Wave, Blue City, Salam-Yiti resort as part of its efforts to increase non-oil revenues.

And this is an area of potential collaboration as Malaysian companies are keen to participate in these development projects. The capability of Malaysian companies has already been proven in projects in the region including the Green Acres recreational  complex in Muscat, she said.

Malaysia offers opportunities to foreign students to attain quality education. In 2006, there were 437 Omani students studying at public and private higher education institutes in Malaysia.

“I would like to invite more students from Oman to consider Malaysia as the destination to pursue higher education,” she said.

A MoU was signed between AMS Engineering Sdn Bhd and Prosper Management Consultancy, Oman, in the area of AC/ventilation, which facilitates setting up of a training centre in Muscat.

HE Maqbool Bin Ali Bin Sultan, Minister of Commerce and Industry, said both the countries could have cooperation in oil and gas sector, tourism, construction, trade, ICT. “The Sultanate’s economy still depends heavily on hydrocarbons, which is 40 per cent of the GDP and thus economic diversification is one of our biggest challenges. But in the last few years, we have succeeded in adding value to our oil and have resources by investing in oil and gas based industries. A number of projects have been completed and operating and others are under construction. These mega projects worth $14 billion have paved the way for numerous investment opportunities in downstream and ancillary projects such as plastics, aluminium based projects and services.” The Sultanate invites Malaysian investors to look at the opportunities in these areas, he said.

HH Sayyid Khalifa Bin Taimur Al Said, Chairman and CEO of Radiance International, spoke on the immense potential for investment in Malaysia and Oman.

HE Khalil Bin Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Khonji, Chairman, Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) said that there were immense opportunities for joint ventures between Oman and Malaysia in diverse sectors.

A video presentation on “Malaysia: Your profit centre in Asia” was screened on the occasion.

Source: Oman Tribune