Monday, 8 August 2016
El Peruano
Económika
Seeking to increase the commercial exchange
Peruvian market attracts Malaysian investment
Apart from giving the opportunity to consolidate Peru’s presence in the Asia-Pacific, Transpacific Partnership is also an avenue for greater investments to come to our country. In an interview with Económika, the Ambassador of Malaysia to Peru, Chuah Teong Ban, comments on the possibilities of a greater trade between both nations due to this agreement.
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Interviewer
Rodolfo Ardiles Villamonte
Peru has become one of the most attractive countries for investment in this region, which sectors do you think will be the most required by Malaysian investors?
Today we have some small areas of investment from Malaysia in Peru. For instance, there two companies selling beverages, namely coffee.
Is it a specific type of coffee?
Exactly, it is a coffee with an ingredient called ganoderma, a mushroom that improves the quality of coffee. This mushroom prolongs life and has a good taste.
It seems that those companies are doing very well in Peru, which proves that this type of Malaysian coffee is of good quality and therefore it is competitive in the Peruvian market.
Manufactured products such as food are also well received in Peru, which shows a positive performance in the market.
Based on all this, we can say that Malaysian products are selling well in Peru, which may encourage other Malaysian investors to enter this local market with new initiatives.
Another small investor that operates in this nation is a Malaysian citizen who is working with oil palm in the jungle.
As you may know, my country is very dynamic in technology used for the palm oil industry and I believe that the capitals of my country can come to develop this product.
Which Peruvian products are exported to your country?
The first Peruvian companies that arrived in Malaysia work with derivatives from palm oil, they produce food supplements that are also exported to other markets in the region.
Other products are the traditional exports, such as metals and its derivatives, and crude minerals, as well as chemical and agricultural products. On the other hand, the main Malaysian exports to Peru are electronic technology, derivatives from rubber, textiles, processed food, and some chemical products.
Are Malaysian investors interested in investing in infrastructure?
To be honest, Malaysian investors have been involved in different infrastructure projects in other countries.
For instance, they have worked in India, Middle East and some African nations. Malaysian capitals successfully entered those markets because they understood their business environment, where their economy develops, and they learnt how investments work in those markets.
They conducted a market research….
Exactly. In fact, it was easier because Malaysia is closer to the Asian and African markets. However, I believe that investments can also be made in this part of South America, especially in Peru, since there are numerous infrastructure projects that need to be done.
Foreign companies need to be confident that they can make their investments without problems, and to that end first the risk must be reduced. Only then, they could come.
Which are the most appealing areas for them?
Malaysia achieved a rapid development in infrastructure, especially in the construction of roads and highways, as well as in the telecommunications sector. Those are the areas in which we have more experience and it would be great if Peru could know about our experience in those fields.
Could Malaysian companies enter the tourist sector?
In Malaysia the tourist sector has successfully developed, propelled by our own operators. According to the World Tourism Organization, we are the ninth country with the largest number of visitors from around the globe. Last year, we received 26 million tourists. The reason is because Malaysia has one of the world’s best infrastructures for tourism.
Unfortunately, we do not have as many tourist places considered world heritage as Peru. Nonetheless, Malaysian operators learnt to develop in other tourist areas.
Benefits
Ambassador Chuah Teong Ban states that the TPP is a high-standard agreement, which covers several areas of production and services and aims at reducing taxes and tariffs to 0%.
“Both Peru and Malaysia consider this agreement a platform to become more competitive and to propel their trade. Both nations expect the movement of goods and services to increase,” he stated.
In that respect, he mentioned that the evidence is clear, since the bilateral relations between Peru and Malaysia improved after the agreement was signed, as trade increased by 35% in January and February compared to the same period last year.
Facts
Peru and Malaysia are members of the Transpacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), the world’s largest trade bloc comprised of 89000 million people.
Among the nations in this bloc are two other Latin American countries: Mexico and Chile.
Other members: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam.
The TPP has been sharply criticized because people from the countries involved were not informed about the negotiations.
In that respect, Ambassador of Malaysia to Peru, Chuah Teong Ban, explains that in his country some people expressed their opposition to this trade agreement. However, Malaysia started a dialogue and consulted the NGO dedicated to consumer defence.