MIDA joins MITI, MATRADE and NCCIM to organise Qatar-Malaysia economic forum

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) together with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and the National Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM), will be organising the Qatar-Malaysia Economic Forum on Oct 16 here.

In a statement yesterday, MIDA said the forum, to be organised also in collaboration with the Qatar Embassy in Malaysia, the Qatar Ministry of Economy & Commerce and Qatar Chamber of Commerce & Industry, is in conjunction with the state visit of Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al –Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar to Malaysia.

MIDA Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Azman Mahmud said the agency was taking the opportunity to conduct a workshop to cultivate a deeper understanding and generate wider awareness of the exciting investment opportunities in Malaysia, as the Qatari delegation will involve about 70 business representatives.

“Through this engagement, we look forward to more strategic partnerships formed between the business communities of Malaysia and Qatar. The event is timely as Qatar is moving towards being self-sufficient and diversifying from its traditional investment destinations in the Middle East region.

“Malaysia, as a diversified economy with a sizeable multicultural and multilingual talent pool, provides tremendous business opportunities for Qatari investors, especially to access the wider market in the Asean region,” he added.

Azman said more investments from Qatar are certainly welcomed, particularly in the areas of oil and gas, chemicals & chemical products, food processing, halal, healthcare services, hotel & tourism, Islamic banking and finance, real estate development and education & training.

“It is noteworthy that while there are only a handful of investments from Qatar in Malaysia, more and more Malaysian companies are having large regional footprints in Qatar. Our companies are active in the construction, retail & hospitality, education, automotive and waste management segments.

“With the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022, there are ample business opportunities in areas such as food & beverages, construction, tourism, manufacturing and logistics to be explored by our Malaysian industry players,” he added. — Bernama