Shawn Sim Kok Aun
Norman Dzulkarnain Mohd Nasri
KUCHING: Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) sees China and South Africa as a gateway to a ‘world class’ market given that there are vast opportunities ahead for Malaysian investors to venture in.
Matrade senior manager of trade and services promotion division, Shawn Sim Kok Aun, told The Borneo Post that in China, export market in Guangdong alone was equivalent to the whole export market of Thailand.
Among all provinces and regions in China, Guangdong holds the largest total value of imports and exports, accounting for a third of the nation’s total.
“The opportunity in China is basically due to the market size driven by the massive population base. We cannot look at China as ‘one’ country because of the market size and the economic spillover from its 33 provinces,” the former trade commissioner of Guangzhou said.
He urged Malaysian comapanies to look into the ‘world class’ cities for investment, which were also known as first tier cities. “For Malaysian companies that do have any experience doing business in China, ‘1st tier’ will be the right choice.”
“It is much more easier to get information there and they have huge purchasing power as well as good infrastructures and wide distribution channels. One province’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita will easily hit US$13,000 mark,” he revealed.
However, he pointed out that second tier cities also provided wide opportunities for investments. “Some of the cities’ GDP is even more than Malaysia’s, providing first class investment opportunities in different sectors.”
Among the highlighted second tier cities were Tianjin, Shenyang, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Dalian and Qingdao, which would all generate good investment returns on food and beverage (F&B) as it was the strongest sector there.
“Electrical and electronic components and parts are also our key exports into China as well as wood-based products, rubber-based products and finished products. Lately, focus has also been given to the palm oil industry there,” Sim commented.
In South Africa, opprtunities were more to the healthcare sector with focused on medical as well as pharmaceutical products. “The government has earmarked the South African pharmaceutical industry as an area of growth.
“The country is highly dependent on imported drugs, thereby giving room to private players to set up their own manufacturing bases,” said Matrade manager of trade and service promotion division Norman Dzulkarnain Mohd Nasri, who is also a former assistant trade commissioner of Johannesburg.
Also in the list were F&B as well as building and construction materials, furniture, agricultural produce and finished products.
Meanwhile, for Halal products, Nasri pointed out South African has high regards for Malaysia’s Halal certification system. “Our Halal products are well known there and it will not be an issue to sell our products on the shelves.”
“South Africa is an emerging market and it is growing at a tremendous rate with more and more basic services being offered around the region. It is also a gateway to a wider and bigger market into the neighbouring countries,” he concluded.