Malaysians Should Not Fear AEC 2015, Says Mustapa Source : BERNAMA, 21 August 2014 Malaysians should not be worried about the Asean Economic Community 2015 (AEC 2015) as its implementaon is more towards benefing the country and all liberalising measures are not done abruptly. Internaonal Trade and Industry Minister, Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, said the measures undertaken for the aim of a single market and producon base had been carried out in the last 10 years. "Next year is not a big deal really. 2015 is just the semi-compleon of the AEC 2015. "Although Malaysia will assume the chairman role for the community in January 2015, the heavy dues will only start in November next year," he said at the AEC Townhall Session with the media here today. On advantages, he said, Malaysia was the top beneficiary of the 'open skies' policy given the nature of liberalising the region's air transport industry. Mustapa said AirAsia, which has staff from all over the region, has been leveraging on this policy and was presently flying all over Asean countries. The government aimed to push for 90 per cent implementaon rate of the measures under the AEC Blueprint from the current over 80 per cent by focusing on three areas -- non-tariff barriers, youth and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). One of the pillars of the AEC 2015 is free flow of goods whereby member states were to eliminate import dues and remove all forms of non-tariff barriers. "Todate, Customs import dues have been substanally eliminated and beginning next year, 97.3 per cent of the products traded in the region will be duty-free "However, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam are given flexibility to maintain dues between one and five per cent over tariff lines, which will be eliminated in January 2018, as they have only joined the community recently," he said. Mustapa encouraged local companies, which already have presence in the region, to develop programmes to engage youths in the form of internships that were similar to a student exchange programme. "This is happening but on a small scale. We need more of these as they are the best way to learn about a country and increase the youths' sense of belonging to Asean," he said. On SMEs which have growing fear of going bankrupt as a result of the open market, he assured them the AEC would actually create market opportunies for them in Asean member states. MITI Weekly Bulletin/ www.miti.gov.my “DRIVING Transformation, POWERING Growth”
Transcript
Malaysians Should Not Fear AEC 2015, Says Mustapa
Source : BERNAMA, 21 August 2014
Malaysians should not be worried about the Asean Economic Community 2015 (AEC 2015) as its implementation is more towards benefitting the country and all liberalising measures are not done abruptly.
International Trade and Industry Minister, Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, said the measures undertaken for the aim of a single market and production base had been carried out in the last 10 years.
"Next year is not a big deal really. 2015 is just the semi-completion of the AEC 2015.
"Although Malaysia will assume the chairman role for the community in January 2015, the heavy duties will only start in November next year," he said at the AEC Townhall Session with the media here today.
On advantages, he said, Malaysia was the top beneficiary of the 'open skies' policy given the nature of liberalising the region's air transport industry.
Mustapa said AirAsia, which has staff from all over the region, has been leveraging on this policy and was presently flying all over Asean countries.
The government aimed to push for 90 per cent implementation rate of the measures under the AEC Blueprint from the current over 80 per cent by focusing on three areas -- non-tariff barriers, youth and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
One of the pillars of the AEC 2015 is free flow of goods whereby member states were to eliminate import duties and remove all forms of non-tariff barriers.
"Todate, Customs import duties have been substantially eliminated and beginning next year, 97.3 per cent of the products traded in the region will be duty-free
"However, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam are given flexibility to maintain duties between one and five per cent over tariff lines, which will be eliminated in January 2018, as they have only joined the community recently," he said.
Mustapa encouraged local companies, which already have presence in the region, to develop programmes to engage youths in the form of internships that were similar to a student exchange programme.
"This is happening but on a small scale. We need more of these as they are the best way to learn about a country and increase the youths' sense of belonging to Asean," he said.
On SMEs which have growing fear of going bankrupt as a result of the open market, he assured them the AEC would actually create market opportunities for them in Asean member states.
MITI Weekly Bulletin/ www.miti.gov.my
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Car Price Reduction Target On Track CYBERJAYA: New car launches are sporting lower price tags this year, with reductions of 7% to 19% on average, said Malaysia Automotive Institutes (MAI) CEO Madani Sahari.
“The car price reduction of 7% to 19% this year, is based on new models that have been launched this year. On average, it is less than 5%. Our target on average is about 5% for 2014. For 2013, there was a 4.97% reduction in car prices. This year, we expect 5% reduction on average,” he told reporters at a briefing on the MAI-Lafarge Automotive & Logistic Safety Exhibition 2014 yesterday.
Under the National Automotive Policy (NAP) 2014, the target is to reduce car prices by 25% by 2018.
“One of the most obvious reasons is market competition because the government has liberalised the automotive industry. When there is market competition, the players have to compete, in terms of pricing (besides quality),” he said.
He said the gradual reduction of car prices gives car makers the time and opportunity to optimise their operations and reduce production costs, by reducing wastages and increasing quality and productivity.
“Apart from that, the gradual car price reduction is important to ensure there are still second hand values,” he added.
Meanwhile, Madani said that the Euro 5 diesel will be available in Johor in a month’s time, following a delay from the original timeline of July 1.
“We are going to implement first in the Johor area because of the need of our lorries to go into Singapore for the lower HSU (Hartridge Smoke Unit) requirement. The company that has agreed to do so need to do some engineering works. We as an observer, an outsider, thought that it is a straight forward thing, just pump in the Euro 5 and that’s it. Actually it’s not that straight forward. They need to do some engineering work in the petrol station and that work needs to be approved by the local authorities like the Fire Department and so on. So that’s still work in progress but it will be out in a month’s time for Johor,” said Madani.
In earlier reports, he had said that BHP will bring in Euro 5 diesel in Johor to ensure that lorry operators comply with Singapore’s new regulation whereby all in-use diesel powered vehicles must achieve a smoke opacity test result of 40 HSU or lower.
“Now, other oil companies are also thinking but they are still undertaking a study on whether it is feasible for them to introduce Euro 5 in southern part of Malaysia. Actually it is an open platform, anybody can start supplying Euro 5. It is not exclusive to any oil company,” he said yesterday.
On the outlook for the automotive industry, Madani said MAI expects car sales to increase from September onwards, especially with the launching of new models by Perodua and Proton, and sales are expected to exceed the 670,000 units forecasted by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).
“MAI for next year, we analysed (the figures) and based on this year’s car sales, we expect sales of 700,000 for 2015,” he said.
On Proton and Perodua, Madani said both national car makers have started on their respective transformation plans and MAI is confident that both companies will be able to achieve their targets.
“We are confident with the existing management of Proton and Perodua to deliver what they need to do to be globally competitive. I know what they are doing…I’m confident they will achieve the target.”
The MAI-Lafarge Automotive & Logistic Safety Exhibition 2014 will be jointly organised by MAI and Lafarge Malaysia Bhd. The event will be held at MATRADE, Jalan Duta in Kuala Lumpur from Sept 5 till 7.
The public event will feature some 80 exhibitors and 20,000 visitors are expected at the event.Source : Sun Daily , 26 August 2014
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MITI Weekly Bulletin/www.miti.gov.my
Source : Department of Statistics, Malaysia
Source : Department of Statistics, Malaysia
Source : Department of Statistics, Malaysia
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Trade in Services, Q2 2014
FDI and Trade in Services, Q1 2012 - Q2 2014
Trade in Services by Sub-Sectors, Q1 2012 - Q2 2014
MALAYSIA
RM 31.6b
RM 35.3b
RM 10.2b
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2
2012 2013 2014
RM b
illio
n
Exports Imports FDI
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
18,000
20,000
Travel Transport Other business services Telecommunications, computer and information
services
Construction Others
RM m
illio
n
Exports Imports
Q2 2014 Q1 2014 Q2 2013 Changes (%)
RM billion q-o-q y-o-y
Trade in Services
Exports 31.64 32.62 30.29 -3.0 4.4
Imports 35.26 35.33 35.45 -0.2 -0.5
Foreign Direct Investment 10.2 7.0 8.8 46.7 16.5
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MITI Weekly Bulletin/www.miti.gov.my
Source : Department of Statistics, Malaysia
*Other Business Services comprise research and development, professional and management consulting, technical, trade related and etc.
**Other Services includes maintenance and repair, insurance and pension, financial, charge for the use of intellectual property, personal; cultural and recreational services.
Trade in Services by Sub-Sector, Q1 2009 - Q2 2014
Jan 13 Mar 13 May 13 Jul 13 Sep 13 Nov 13 Jan 14 Mar 14 May 14 Jul 14
Aluminum Copper NickelUS$19,118
US$7,113
US$1,948
MITI Weekly Bulletin/www.miti.gov.my
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Source: Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Malaysia
Number and Value of Preferential Certificates of Origin (PCO’s)
Number of CertificatesValue of Preferential Certificates of Origin
AJCEP: ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (Implemented since 1 February 2009)
ACFTA: ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (Implemented since 1 July 2003) AKFTA: ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement (Implemented since 1 July 2006)
AANZFTA: ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement(Implemented since 1 January 2010)
AIFTA: ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (Implemented since 1 January 2010)
ATIGA: ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (Implemented since 1 May 2010)
Value of Preferential Certificates of Origin
Number of Certificates
MICECA: Malaysia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Implemented since 1 July 2011)
MNZFTA: Malaysia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (Implemented since 1 August 2010)MCFTA: Malaysia-Chile Free Trade Agreement (Implemented since 25 February 2012)
Number of Certificates
Notes: The preference giving countries under the GSP scheme are Japan, Switzerland, the Russian Federation, and Norway.
MPCEPA: Malaysia-Pakistan Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (Implemented since 1 January 2008)
Value of Preferential Certificates of Origin
Value of Preferential Certificates of Origin
MAFTA: Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement (Implemented since 1 January 2013)
MJEPA: Malaysia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (Implemented since 13 July 2006)
Ministry of International Trade and Industry Malaysia, Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Malaysian Rubber Board, Malaysian Cocoa Board, Malaysian Iron and Steel Industry Federation, Bloomberg and Czarnikow Group
Notes: All figures have been rounded to the nearest decimal point * Refer to % change from the previous week’s price i Average price in the year except otherwise indicated
Source :
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MITI Weekly Bulletin/ www.miti.gov.my
Our Success Stories
Kilang Makanan Mamee Sdn Bhd is known for its wide selection of processed and packed food. The brand has since become a synonym and household names for snack food and instant noodle. The products produced are ranging from snacks food, instant noodles, confectioneries and also beverages products. Currently, MAMEE has a presence in more than 30 countries where most of the markets are concentrated in Europe, Middle East, Africa and ASEAN region.As part of the marketing strategy to expand their market share in Europe, Kilang Makanan Mamee Sdn had participated in the recent SIAL PARIS 2010 organized by MATRADE. During the 5-day event, the company managed to achieve a total sale of RM3.5 million. The Export Manager, Mr. Joel Leong said, “SIAL is a good platform to promote MAMEE products to the potential buyers as most of the established importers are coming to source for various food products. We noticed that majority of the buyers who are visiting our booth are interested to buy our variety chips and snack products such as Mister Potato and Mamee Oriental brand”.Prior to SIAL, MAMEE had also followed MATRADE’s promotional programmes in other parts of Europe and Asia. Through these promotion programmes, they were able to expand their export markets and to understand the opportunities and challenges of exporting overseas. The company has put much emphasis on the intentional trade fair and marketing mission to further promote their products to the potential buyers/distributors.MATRADE’s Trade Commissioner in Paris, Ms. Nurdiana Abdullah said “the company’s success in SIAL was due to the attractiveness of the products coupled with a strong brand that have the credibility to attract a large segment of consumers in Paris and other parts of France. However, the company has to ensure that they would be able to meet the required export standards and also to maintain the good brand of the products. Generally, sustaining a business in Europe is a big challenge for much of the ASEAN exporters”.
Kilang Makanan Mamee Sdn Bhd
Contact Details :
Lot 793, Jalan SS 13/1K,
Off Jalan Persiaran Persiaran Subang Indah,
Taman Industri Subang,
47500 Subang Jaya, Malaysia.
(Business Address)
Lot 1,
Air Keroh Industrial Estate,
75450 Melaka, Malaysia.
(Factory Address)
T : +603-56325588 / +603- 56325588
F : +603- 56310292 / +603-56310292
MITI Weekly Bulletin/www.miti.gov.my
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AnnouncementOn 18 August 2014, the Government of Malaysia initiated a safeguard investigation on imports of Hot Rolled Steel Plate (HRP) from foreign countries into Malaysia. HRP is a base material used in various industries such as building material, cranes, highway guardrails, pressure vessel material, ship material, engineering structural steel, automotive chassis and parts, pipes & tubes material, floor plate, fabrication material. The investigation was initiated upon determining that the petition submitted by Ji Kang Dimensi Sdn. Bhd. has fulfilled the requirements for a safeguard investigation. The petitioner has provided evidence that imports of HRP from foreign countries have increased both in absolute and relative terms and these imports have caused serious injury to the Malaysian domestic industry.
The investigation will allow the Investigating Authority to determine whether the alleged surge in imports of HRP has affected the production of the Malaysian domestic producers and whether this surge has caused serious injury to the domestic industry in Malaysia, within the meaning of the Malaysian Safeguards Act 2006.
The Notice of Initiation [P.U.(B) 368/2014] was published in the Federal Government Gazette on 18 August 2014. Any interested party who wishes to participate in this investigation may submit a written request before 2 September 2014 to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry:
Director Trade Practices Section Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Level 12, Block 10, Government Offices Complex Jalan Duta 50622 Kuala Lumpur MALAYSIA (Attn: Mr. Suresh Kaliyana Sundram/Ms. Siti Zahara Abu Bakar)
Telephone Number : +603 – 6200 0113/0123/0111 Facsimile Number : +603 – 6201 6394 e-mail : [email protected]
All questionnaire responses, relevant information and supporting evidences must be submitted to MITI within 30 days from the date of the Notice.
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MITI Weekly Bulletin/ www.miti.gov.my
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