Use Malaysia as gateway to Asia, Pacific Alliance urged

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has invited the Pacific Alliance to use Malaysia as the gateway to the Asean and Asian markets, leveraging the country’s free-trade agreements (FTAs) within the region and beyond.

Its Secretary-General, Datuk Seri J Jayasiri said Malaysia had benefitted from Asean’s almost single market and preferential access to big markets such as China, India, Japan and South Korea.

The Pacific Alliance is a Latin American trade bloc, comprising four member states, namely Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

“You will gain access to an almostUS$3billion(US$1=RM4.18) marketbyrelocatingyourbusiness to Malaysia,” he said in a speech at the Pacific Alliance Trade and Investment forum titled “The Gateway in Latin America for Malaysian Business, Trade and Investment” yesterday.

Jayasiri cited the aerospace, automotive, halal, and small and medium enterprise sectors as the potential areas of collaboration between the parties.

He said bilateral trade between Malaysia and Latin American countries had yet to reach its true potential, as exports and imports to the region only stood at US$3.7 billion and US$4.1 billion, respectively, in 2016.

“The (Latin America) region only accounted for less than two per cent of Malaysia’s total export, and the Pacific Alliance countries are among the top five exporters to Malaysia,” he said.

He added that the main imports from the region consisted of processed foods, scrap metals, electricalandelectronic,petroleum and agricultural products, while Malaysia’s exports to the region consisted of rubber products, machinery equipment and parts and processed foods.

The half day forum, held for the first time in Malaysia, was jointly organised by the Pacific Alliance, MITI and Asia Strategic and Leadership Institute.

The forum provided the Malaysianbusinessandinvestment community with an outlook on the Pacific Alliance integration process.

The forum also served as a platform for trade and economic exchanges, joint ventures and foreign investment opportunities.

The Pacific Alliance provides unique opportunities in the region for Asian entrepreneurs, with a gross domestic products of US$16,759 per capita and a potential market of over 225 million people. — Bernama