KOTA KINABALU: Kota Kinabalu Chinese Chamber of Commerce (KKCCCI) welcomes overseas visiting business investors to explore joint investment opportunities in the state.
Lui (ninth, right) presenting a souvenir to Pham as others look on.
Chamber president Datuk Michael Lui Yen Sang also hoped that Australia, especially the state government of Victoria and the private sector, would provide assistance to local schools in efforts to upgrade their academic standard and pave the way for local students to pursue tertiary education in Australia.
Lui said this during a dialogue with a delegation from Victoria, headed by My Linh Pham, head of Significant Investment Migration of the Victoria State Government here yesterday.
The purpose of the visit was for the visiting delegation to promote their interest in this region in terms of trade, investment, education and business migration.
Lui said the chamber focused on promoting Sabah and the economic development potentials in the state, particularly investment opportunities in tourism as well as the oil and gas industry.
He continued to say that the main objective of KKCCCI was to promote awareness and importance of participation in commerce and industrial developments.
Lui said the business community must break away from the old mindset amidst the increasingly borderless and transnational environment.
Therefore, he said the chamber encouraged its subcommittees to take part in various activities that could achieve the goal of economic transformation.
Although KKCCCI was a trade and industry organisation, Lui said by tradition, it had undertaken the mission of preserving and developing Chinese education.
The chamber has eight schools under its management, comprising three Chinese kindergartens, four Chinese primary schools and a national-type Chinese secondary school.
“We hope Australia, particularly the State Government of Victoria and private sector, could look into providing technical assistance to our schools, so as to upgrade the standard of academic excellence, provide technical training and information as well as pave the way for (locals to) further college or university education in Australia.”
Meanwhile, Pham said the State Government of Victoria had become more active in promoting business migration programme to the state over the past 10 years.
“China is the largest market for our business migration programme, followed by Malaysia and Vietnam at second and third place respectively, she said.
“Around 60 per cent of business migrants to Australia choose Victoria as the place to live and invest.”
She further elaborated on her government’s Business Innovation and Investment Programme and Significant Investor Programme.
Pham said the State Government of Victoria had built a lot of relationships in China previously, and now was targeting to further promote its business migration programme in Southeast Asia and Europe.
The State Government of Victoria has 18 offices worldwide to provide services in trade and investment as well as four Significant Investment Desks in Shanghai (China), London (England), Kuala Lumpur and Bangalore (India).
Also present at the dialogue were KKCCCI secretary-general Yee That Hian, KKCCCI management and supervisory committee members, Significant Investment Migration director for Southeast Asia, Olivia Quah and Commonwealth Bank Fixed Income Sales associate director Brad Sheehan, as well as La Trobe Financial vice president and head of Funds Management Chris Andrews.