Msia Makes History, Trade Breaches RM1 Trillion Mark In 2006

February 08, 2007 18:59 PM
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 8 (Bernama) -- Malaysia made history when the country's total trade surpassed the RM1 trillion mark last year.

Announcing the good news today which is a boost to the economy, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said trade last year surged by 10.5 percent to RM1.069 trillion.

"Surely, this is an encouraging achievement and reflects the increase in the country's trade flow, especially in the value of exports," he said in a statement issued from his office in Putrajaya.

Abdullah, who is also Finance Minister, said the country's exports were valued at RM588.949 billion while imports totalled RM480.493 billion.

"Despite having faced numerous economic challenges especially the 1997 economic crisis as well as the global recession in 2001 and 2002, Malaysia managed to ride through it well and continued to chalk up increased trade," Abdullah said.

This was reflected in the country's total trade which has been consistently increasing by 10.8 percent between 1997 and 2006.

Besides this, the country's export profile also recorded similar increases. In 1987, 53.5 percent of total trade comprised major commodities such as crude petroleum, logs, sawn timber, palm oil and rubber.

Abdullah said manufacturing revenue only accounted for 14 percent of total exports.

A decade later, in 1996, the country's export profile showed a marked change whereby the contribution by major commodities declined to 17 percent while manufacturing's share increased to 78.5 percent.

This clearly shows the level of industrial development and contribution from the manufacturing sector towards exports, he said.

In addition, there were several changes to Malaysia's trading partners.

Twenty years ago, Malaysia's major trading partners mainly comprised Japan, the United States and Europe.

Over the last 10 years, although these markets remained crucial, Malaysia stepped up trade with countries in Asean, West Asia and China.

Contributions from the emerging economies in Latin America, South Asia and Eastern Europe also continue to increase, Abdullah said.

He said that the record trade of RM1.069 trillion last year preceded several important factors such as;

*the 10.5 percent increase in trade where it exceeded World Trade Organisation (WTO) estimates for global trade in 2006;

*the 10.3 percent expansion in exports valued at RM588.949 billion from major sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, minerals and fuels;

*trade surpluses for 110 consecutive months;

*the highest annual trade surplus of RM108.456 billion; and

*the strong manufacturing sector where the demand for capital and intermediate goods raised imports significantly by 10.7 percent to RM480.493 billion.

Malaysia's Trade With China Up 20.8 Percent

February 08, 2007 18:04 PM
By Tham Choy Lin

BEIJING, Feb 8 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's trade with China rose 20.8 per cent last year to US$37.12 billion on the back of electrical and electronic components and growing imports of palm oil by the world's fastest growing economy.

Based on China's Customs statistics, Malaysia has a trade surplus of US$10 billion as it maintains its position as China's eighth biggest trading partner, said Abu Bakar Yusof, trade commissioner at the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) office in Beijing.

China's imports from Malaysia totalled US$23.6 billion with nearly two thirds made up of electrical and electronic components, including integrated circuits and semiconductors while exports to Malaysia were worth US$13.5 billion.

Malaysia is China's biggest import source among Asean countries. Many Malaysian products enter mainland China via Hong Kong.

"In fact, 64.3 per cent of our exports to Hong Kong last year was routed to mainland China," Abu Bakar said.

China bought more electrical and electronic parts from Malaysia last year, rising by 15 per cent to US$14.52 billion.

Palm oil exports rose 29 per cent to US$1.64 billion after China lifted import quotas early last year.

The abolishment of the quotas led to a substantial increase in Malaysian palm oil exports to China last year to four million tonnes from three million tonnes in 2005.

Palm oil now comprised seven percent of China's total imports from Malaysia and is expected to grow because of demand from food and non-food industries, Abu Bakar said.

Malaysia, the world's largest producer of palm oil, provides more than 70 percent of China's needs, he added.

Looking ahead, Abu Bakar said bilateral trade will remain robust, given the long established links and competitively priced quality products from Malaysia.

"China is a developing economy and it will continue to need resources. Malaysian companies can also explore the emerging and less-developed markets in the western and north-eastern provinces," he said.

While China is the world's largest manufacturing base, there is still demand for finished high-end products like textiles, footwear, leather products and agricultural produce, Abu Bakar said.

Another area which Malaysian companies can fill the gap is in the services industry which is still a relatively new but fast developing industry in China, in particular, healthcare, construction and construction services, and information technology.

Last year, China chalked up its highest growth of 10.7 per cent since 1995, and with the momentum, it is poised to overtake Germany as the world's third biggest economy within two years.

Abu Bakar said Matrade will continue to provide opportunities for businesses to expand in China.

On the agenda in the first half of the year are a trade mission on halal products to the predominantly Muslim Xinjiang and Ningxia provinces, and also in Xian city in April, followed by the annual investment mission led by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz in May.

Matrade is also coordinating Malaysian participation in international exhibitions for food as well as construction and building materials in Beijing in April and June, and for Chinese buyers and investors to attend the Malaysia International Halal Showcase in Kuala Lumpur in early May.

I thought its trully interesting news but from that amount how does it translate to you and me???How much tax does the gov collect from it ,How many people are employed ? Etc etc

Malaysia-Japan FTA boosts exports, narrow trade deficit
(Kyodo) _ Malaysia's trade deficit with Japan narrowed by 13.2 percent in 2006 to 11.34 billion ringgit ($3.24 billion) as exports grew and the gap will narrow further following the bilateral free trade agreement that came into force in July last year, International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz said Friday.

Malaysia's trade with Japan, its largest trading partner after the United States and Singapore, rose 2.5 percent in 2006 to 115.77 billion ringgit from 112.9 billion ringgit in 2005.

Exports to Japan increased 4.6 percent to 52.21 billion ringgit, while total imports went up 0.9 percent to 63.56 billion ringgit, which were mainly in machinery, iron and steel products. Japan remains Malaysia's largest source of imports.

In a press conference to announce the country's 2006 trade performance, Rafidah said that since the Economic Partnership Agreement, as the FTA is officially known, came into effect last July, there have been "positive effects" on Malaysia's export performance to Japan.

Exports utilizing the preferential "Certificate of Origin" accorded under the agreement for the second half of 2006 were valued at 3.06 billion ringgit.

The main products exported under the preferential access included palm oil, articles of ethylene and veneered panels.

Other products that have gained better access into Japan were tropical fruit such as pineapples and watermelons, which increased fourfold during the six-month period after the implementation of the FTA, Rafidah said.

Electrical and electronic products remained Malaysia's number one export to Japan, totaling 16.47 billion ringgit, but that was 1.5 percent lower than in 2005 as Japan turned to cheaper sources such as China and Taiwan.

Liquefied natural gas was the second largest export from Malaysia with a value at 13.2 billion ringgit.

Exports of wood products, including veneer, plywood and particle board, accounted for half the increase in exports. Exports of wood products were valued at 4.81 billion ringgit last year.

Overall, as Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had announced late Thursday, Malaysia's total trade breached the 1 trillion ringgit mark for the first time last year at 1.069 trillion ringgit, 10.5 percent higher than the preceding year.

Exports rose 10.3 percent to 588.95 billion ringgit while imports rose 10.7 percent to 480.49 billion ringgit in 2006.

Rafidah is optimistic the growth momentum will continue in 2007 despite concern the rising ringgit will crimp exports.

The currency is now trading near a nine-year high at around 3.50 to the dollar.

"One factor that will support the (export) growth is the forecast stronger expansion of the Southeast Asian economies, from 5.2 percent in 2006 to 5.6 percent in 2007. ASEAN accounted for 26.1 percent of Malaysia's exports in 2006," she said.

Demand for Malaysia's electrical and electronic products that account for more than 45 percent of total exports, is also expected to remain robust as the U.S.-based Semiconductor Industry Association has forecast global semiconductor sales will expand 10 percent this year to $273.8 billion.

Record RM20.2 Bln In Foreign Investments In Manufacturing In 2006

February 13, 2007 12:36 PM
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's strategic importance as an attractive investment destination received a major boost last year when foreign investments in approved manufacturing projects last year reached a record level of RM20.2 billion -- the highest level chalked up todate compared with RM17.9 billion in 2005 and RM13.1 billion in 2004.

Taking into account both local and foreign investments, a total of 1,077 projects involving investments of RM46 billion were approved compared with RM31 billion in 1,027 projects in 2005.

Approved investments for the manufacturing sector were the highest recorded todate, exceeding by RM18.5 billion the annual target of RM27.5 billion set under the Third Industrial Master Plan (IMP3).

Announcing what is surely a feather in the cap for Malaysia's efforts to woo investments, Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said Japan was the largest source of FDIs with RM4.4 billion last year from RM3.7 billion a year earlier.

This was followed by the Netherlands RM3.3 billion (RM1.7 billion); Australia RM2.6 billion (RM155.9 million); the United States RM2.5 billion (RM5.2 billion); and Singapore RM1.9 billion (RM2.9 billion).

The electrical and electronics sector continued to attract the larger share of foreign investment amounting to RM8.6 billion or 42.6 percent of the total approved investments, she said at the annual press conference of the performance of the manufacturing and services sectors 2006 by the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (Mida) here today.

Mida is an agency under her ministry.

She said the manufacturing sector expanded by 8.0 percent in the first three quarters of 2006, contributing to 32 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

The non-government services sector grew by 5.9 percent and accounted for 50.7 percent of the country's GDP.

The industrial production index (IPI) for the manufacturing sector increased by 7.3 percent to 138.8 in 2006 between January and November.