Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad
HYDERABAD: The trade and investment mission to Mumbai and Hyderabad in India has attracted potential investment of RM191 million, Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad said.
He said the investment would be in sectors such as electrical components, pharmaceuticals, Information Technology (IT) services, aquaculture farming and food processing, infrastructure development and medical devices.
During the three-day mission, Mustapa met captains of various industries in India’s financial capital Mumbai as well as Hyderabad, which has a very strong IT industry.
Also present at the mission were Malaysia Invesment Development Authority chief executive officer Datuk Noharuddin Nordin, Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation chief executive officer Dr Wong Lai Sum and Malaysia’s Consul General in Chennai, Citra Devi Ramiyah.
In Mumbai, 45 top-ranked officials participated in the roundtable meeting, while in Hyderababd 25 of them attended, he said during a press conference.
The minister described the meeting as ‘successful’ as several companies both in Mumbai and Hyderabad have expressed strong interest in establishing their projects in Malaysia.
Mustapa made a strong pitch for Malaysia as an attractive investment destination.
“Malaysia is strategically located between two growing markets, China and India. It is also well positioned within the Asean grouping with good air connections,” he said.
He said both Malaysian and Indian companies should also ride on the strong bilateral relationship that both countries enjoy.
“The strong trade relationship has led to a growing number of joint ventures and collaborations between companies from both countries. This should grow further,” he said.
He said India continues to be one of the most important markets for Malaysia’s palm oil as well as timber products. There has also been growing interest among Indian consumers on other products such as furniture and jewellery.
Substantial growth in imports from India is also seen for agriculture products such as corn, crude rubber and seafood products, he said.
He said India’s bilateral trade with Malaysia stood at nearly US$12.54 billion last year as compared with US$8.98 billion in 2010. New Delhi and Putrajaya have set a bilateral target of US$15 billion by 2015.
“It is not difficult to achieve and we are not looking at revising the figures upwards,” he said. — Bernama