Islamic Banking And Trade

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 (Bernama) — International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed will lead a three-day trade and investment mission to Guangzhou beginning May 25, in conjunction with Malaysia’s 40th bilateral diplomatic relations with China.

Briefing reporters on the mission here today, Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Secretary-General Datuk Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria said Guangzhou was chosen because of the potential it provides and its significant gross domestic product contribution to China’s economy.

She said the visit was in return to the visit by the Guangdong province governor and key leader of Communists Party of China, Hu Chunhua, to Malaysia about two weeks ago.

Mustapa would have a special meeting with Hu before proceeding to engage in business matters and would facilitate a seminar on opportunities in Malaysia and China, said Rebecca.

She said the ministry was also trying to encourage Chinese investment into Malaysia, as it seemed in this perspective Malaysian had been investing a lot more in China than vice versa.

“The Chinese nature of investment is when they go out they look for resources which could fit their industrial plan. For that reason we see less of them in Malaysia but more in Africa and Australia,” she said.

Malaysia would try to encourage a lot more downstream investment from China to collaborate with Malaysian companies especially the small and medium businesses, Rebecca said.

Mustapa would then join the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in Xian, where he would explore and encourage the export and trade in the halal industry as it was a big area there, she added.

The entourage will later move on to Beijing where MITI will co-organise an economic summit with China’s Ministry of Commerce and the Malaysia-China Business Council.

“Everything will culminate on May 31 with the formal commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Malaysia-China diplomatic relations,” she added.

Originally published on www.bernama.com