BRUSSELS: The Frankfurt office of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) is all geared up for the visit of Minister of International Trade and Industry (Miti), Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed to Brussels on May 11.
The minister is scheduled to arrive on May 10 after attending the Milan Expo with Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Three Belgian trade and investment promotion agencies are organising Mustapa’s visit jointly with Mida, namely the Brussels Investment and Export, Wallonia Trade and Investment Agency and the Flanders Investment and Trade.
Mida’s director based in Frankfurt, S. Sivasuriyamoorthy urged Malaysian companies to avail themselves of the complementary facilities offered by the Wallonia Trade and Investment Agency.
“Wallonia even provides office premises with the temporary use of equipment and helps set up meetings with Belgium’s corporate sector for Malaysian companies,” he told Bernama.
Mustapa’s delegation includes representatives of the Malacca State Development Corporation, Kulim Technology Park Corporation, the Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA), the Johor State Investment Centre (JSIC) and INVEST KL.
Among others, he will meet the European Union’s Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom.
The visit also includes the roundtable meeting with representatives of 26 Belgian companies.
On the Belgian side, Pascale Delcomminette, the Chief Executive Officer of Valonia’s Trade and Investment Agency, will speak on behalf of the Belgian companies.
Mustapa will also hold one-on-one meetings with individual companies to woo investments, as well as encourage those who already have operations in Malaysia and want to expand their activities, including research and development (R&D).
One such large Belgian company is Melexis, which produces as well as deigns sensors for the automotive industry. In Malaysia, Melexis has its production undertaken by XFAB company in Kuching, Sarawak.
“We are trying to get Melexis to open a company in Kuching to undertake their testing and probing facility of sensors, and eventually set up a design house and R&D facility,” Sivasuriyamoorthy said.
To date, the total approved investment by Belgian companies in Malaysia is RM 1.1 billion. — Bernama