Saudi Arabia and Malaysia to increase economic cooperation
Prime Minister Razak Najib says that recent steps to liberalise the Malaysian economy have resulted in more interest from Saudi Arabian investors. The PM says that King Abdullah has talked of Saudi Arabia participating in Malaysia’s Islamic banking sector and product manufacturing sectors. “His Majesty considers Malaysia as an exemplary nation in terms of the progress we have made so far,” Najib told reporters.
July 28th, 2009
Malaysia tells APEC to support SMEs
Malaysia has urged the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to help develop and promote small and medium sized enterprises because they are vital to economic growth in APEC countries. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed told APEC trade ministers that SMEs account for more than 90 percent of businesses in APEC economies and are responsible for about 30 percent of business turnover. In October APEC will hold a meeting on SMEs and will share experiences and best practices and identify policies which support small business owners.
July 28th, 2009
Medical tourism won’t have negative impact, says Minister
Malaysia’s attempts to promote itself as a destination for medical tourism will not affect the quality of healthcare provided for locals, says Health Director General Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican. He said that that main provider of healthcare for medical tourists is the private sector and that services for locals will not be diluted.In the first nine months of 2008, over 282,000 foreigners came to Malaysia for medical treatment, generating a revenue of about RM222.25mil – a 16% increase from the year before. The latest figures reveal that about 72 percent of the foreign patients were from...
July 28th, 2009
Proton sales increase slightly
Proton sales increase slightly National car maker Proton says that sales improved slightly in the first half of the year due in part to the launch of the Exora, multi purpose vehicle. Orders for the Exora stand at 15,767 units and 6,200 units have been sold since its launch in February. Managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed told reporters that as well as the launch of the Exora, the easing of finance from banks and the introduction of the government’s older vehicle scrapping programme had helped sales.However, he warned that the second half of the year would remain difficult...
July 28th, 2009
Malaysia aims to make half of people active in sport
Youth and Sports director general, Datuk Fathul Razi Bakri, says that only 20 percent of Malaysians actively take part in sports but that the government aims to get half the population participating by 2020. “Under the 1Malaysia concept, sports would not involve only a certain group of people. We are targeting all individuals in the country to participate in at least one sport as part of their daily activities,” he said while launching the Johor Fitness Tour Programme.
July 28th, 2009
Bank Negara’s reserves fall
Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara, says in a statement that its international reserves fell to RM321.7 billion (equivalent to US$91.2 billion) on July 15, from RM322.9 billion (US$91.5 billion) on June 30.The reserves position is sufficient to finance 8.8 months of retained imports and is 3.8 times the short-term external debt, it says in a statement
July 28th, 2009
Razak Najib urges firms to be “global champions”
Prime Minister Razak Najib has urged Malaysian companies to act as “global champions” as Malaysia strives to become a key player in the global economy. He told companies at a meeting in the United Arab Emirates: “Many of you have been able to compete with and even outbid some of the more established American and European companies. There is the ‘Malaysia Boleh’ spirit here and I’m heartened by this.” He described Malaysian firms operating in the UAE as “trailblazers” who have opened up a route for other Malaysian companies. The PM says the government aims to promote...
July 22nd, 2009
Iskandar a model project says Public Accounts Committee
Iskandar Malaysia, the new metropolis being created in southern Johor, is a model for how development projects should be run, says the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). “The PAC found that the implementation and construction in Iskandar Malaysia was done transparently by Khazanah Nasional, partners and interested parties especially in the awarding of contracts. Managed by competent staff, PAC hopes it can be a model for others,” PAC chairman Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid told reporters. PAC praised the development for including the local community as large and small contracts have been awarded...
July 22nd, 2009
US software firm wants to expand in Malaysia
American company, Epicor Software, says that it is seeing positive growth in Malaysia and that it plans to increase its workforce by 20 percent. Epicor carried out a survey of Malaysian companies and says that they are showing increasing signs of confidence about the future and are investing in IT. “It was very encouraging to see that 70 percent of respondents from Malaysia are wanting to invest in IT – and will get ahead of the competition when times get better,” says Epicor’s vice president for sales, Bryan Tan.
July 22nd, 2009
Businesses urged to tap into Mexican projects
Malaysian companies should tap into big infrastructure projects being carried out in Mexico, says the Mexican ambassador to Malaysia, Jorge Alberto Lozoya. “The Mexican government is investing around US $300 billion in new airports, seaports and highways and we’re inviting Malaysian corporations to join us,” he says. Lozoya says that the Mexican government is preparing specific incentive packages to interest Malaysian investors.
July 22nd, 2009
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