BANGKOK, The COVID-19 pandemic, border closures and lockdowns never stop Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (MATRADE) efforts in introducing Malaysian companies to new potential markets and clients.
By adopting digitalisation in trade promotion, MATRADE had organised a total of 1,086 eBizMatch between 674 Malaysian exporters and 517 foreign buyers in the first seven months of 2021.
MATRADE chief executive officer Mohd Mustafa Abdul Aziz said eBizMatch between Malaysian exporters and foreign buyers generated RM910.56 million sales from January to July this year.
“In ASEAN, MATRADE had conducted 278 eBizMatch connecting 99 buyers with 168 Malaysian exporters,” he said at the inaugural Indochina Malaysian Business Chambers e-Summit 2021 today.
He added that last year MATRADE conducted a total of 1,365 online business matching or eBizMatch for 1,115 Malaysian companies and 703 foreign buyers worldwide with 173 meetings for ASEAN buyers.
“Total sales recorded for 2020 eBizMatch was RM1.08 billion,” he said.
Mohd Mustafa said MATRADE’s digitalisation efforts in promoting exports continue through its participation in the ASEAN Online Sales Day (AOSD).
“This is part of our continuous commitment to assist Malaysian SMEs in sustaining their operations and businesses during these challenging times. This online platform assists exporters to expand its exports into all ASEAN countries through established ecommerce channels (onlineasean.com), offering an array of products with special deals,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mohd Mustafa said ASEAN remained as an important and strategic trading partner for Malaysia, accounting for 25.2 per cent of Malaysia’s total trade in 2020.
He said Malaysia’s total trade with the five Indochina countries was valued at RM134.6 billion or 30 per cent of total trade with ASEAN, last year.
“Due to the market uncertainties, Malaysia’s total trade with Indochina countries decreased by 18.4 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019,” he said.
As merchandise trade expanded more rapidly than expected, Mohd Mustafa said Malaysia’s total trade surpassed RM1 trillion in just six months this year, the shortest period to breach this milestone.
In the first seven months this year, he said trade with ASEAN rose by 25.8 per cent to RM315.22 billion compared to the same period last year.
“Exports to this region edged up by 23.2 per cent to RM189.58 billion, while imports from ASEAN expanded by 29.8 per cent to RM125.64 billion. Trade surplus surged by 12.1 per cent to RM63.94 billion,” he said.
He added that trade between Malaysia and Indochina recorded a double-digit growth of 28.8 per cent compared to the same period last year.
The Indochina Malaysian Business Chambers e-Summit 2021, a virtual summit, gathered all five Malaysian ambassadors to the Indochina countries – Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam and members of the business communities.
The inaugural e-Summit was mooted by Malaysia’s ambassador to Cambodia Eldeen Husaini Mohd Hashim.
“The virtual summit is a paradigm shift to promote borderless trade amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the Indochina region.
“As the pandemic swaps us with chaos and uncertainty, I believe the embassies and Malaysian business chambers as well as key players will ensure continuation of businesses and thrive through COVID-19,” he told Bernama.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
