Malaysia has secured RM986.15 million of deals related to exports acquired through the country’s first trade and investment mission to South Korea and Japan this year.
The mission — led by Senior Minister cum International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali (picture) — is an effective high-level bilateral engagement where senior officials can help push for international business deals.
“During the recent mission, business discussions on sourcing of products and services were organised with premium buyers and leading companies in both South Korea and Japan,” Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) said in a statement yesterday.
The government agency said about RM70 million of exports in products and services to South Korea have been recorded as a result of meetings with buyers from the republic.
“Some of the highlights of the meetings included one with a major retailer of South Korea, GS Retail Co Ltd, which operates more than 15,000 convenience stores and 289 supermarkets with products available online and offline.
“In the meeting led by the Azmin, commitment to tripling up sourcing of food products and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) by GS Retail was discussed and agreed,” it said. Matrade added that more meetings between Matrade and GS Retail have been arranged to determine specific Malaysian suppliers that can meet the sourcing requirements of GS Retail.
In line with the development of the creative industry, a meeting was also held with Moggozi Co Ltd, a Korean company that has co-produced with Malaysian partners and distributed Malaysia’s animation production.
“Moggozi believes in Asian contents and creativity as a collaboration model, which is in sync with Malaysia’s interest,” Matrade said.
As for Japan, several meetings were conducted to secure commitments on increasing the source for FMCG products, palm oil, halal products and services, as well as chemicals and chemical products from Malaysia.
“In addition to the meetings with Japan’s major trading companies, business exchanges were also held with Daiso Industries Co Ltd, a popular operator of ¥100 (RM3.79) shop, which carries a wide range of household items,” Matrade said.
“In 26 countries, Daiso operates 5,741 stores, of which more than half are in Japan. The meeting with Daiso also has been arranged by Matrade to connect Malaysian exporters to an opportunity of supplying more Malaysian products,” the agency said.
Currently, about 160 stock-keeping units of Malaysian products are available in Daiso outlets in Japan.
Matrade said the Japanese buyers have shown encouraging interest in purchasing products from Malaysia over the next 24 months, amounting to RM916.15 million of export value.
During the mission, Matrade also signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Japan External Trade Organisation to strategically strengthen Malaysia’s trade promotion cooperation with Japan in areas such as halal, information and communications technology, e-commerce and digital transformation.
Source: https://themalaysianreserve.com/2021/04/27/malaysia-secures-rm986-2m-deals-from-mission-to-s-korea-japan/