Council needs “China Strategy” to boost exports - MITI

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Malaysia must align its export promotion efforts with China’s recent tweaks in the growth policies. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the National Export Council will have to draw up a “China strategy” to guide exporters.

China is Malaysia’s biggest trading partner.

“China’s urbanisation and its focus in the Western frontier would increase the potential consumables and we would want a slice of the cake”. He was speaking at media briefing after a briefing by

MITI in The NEWS

Source :New Straits Times,18 June 2015

the Economic Planning Unit on the role of the private sector under the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP). The National Export Council was established under the 11MP to strengthen trade under the new growth blueprint. Other efforts to strengthen trade in the coming years include mid-tier companies’ development programmes. Go-Ex programmes and Services Export Fund.

For MITI, one of the key deliverables is to ramp up internationalisation by the way of intensified export promotion and capitalising the ASEAN Economic Community and Free Trade Agreements. Under the plan, manufacturing sub-sectors, namely chemicals, electrical & electronics and machinery and equipment will produce diverse and complex products. “Private investments are expected to grow by 9.4% under the plan,” Mustapha added. Aerospace, medical devices and knowledge-intensive are areas that have attracted strong interest in Malaysia’s high-end engineering skills.

Council needs “China Strategy”

to boost exports

“DRIVING Transformation, POWERING Growth”

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115.9

111.1 122.1

119.9

124.3 125.9

124.1 123.4 126.1

129.0 123.6

130.6

123.5

115.5 129.8

124.8

100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Index

MALAYSIA

Industrial Production Index (IPI)

Jan 2014 - Apr 2015

2014 2015

IPI, Jan 2014 - Apr 2015

Mining Index

Jan - Apr 2014

98.0 Jan - Apr 2015 105.7

^{% Changes} Year-on-Year

7.9 Manufacturing Index

Jan - Apr 2014

117.3 Jan - Apr 2015 123.4

5.3 Electricity Index

Jan - Apr 2014

114.5 Jan - Apr 2015 118.8

3.7 Overall Index

Jan - Apr 2014

111.6 Jan - Apr 2015 118.1

5.8

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109.5 109.8 109.9 109.9 110.0 110.2 110.3 110.5 110.7 111.3 111.9 111.8 110.6 109.9 110.9 111.9 110.0

108 109 109 110 110 111 111 112 112

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Index

Consumer Price Index, 2014 - May 2015

Source : Department of Statistics, Malaysia

386.5 RM386.5 bil.

2014 2015

Consumer Price Index (CPI) by Major Categories, May 2015

Transport Food And

Non-Alcoholic Beverages

May 2014 : 114.5 May 2015 : 118.5

% change : 3.5

May 2014 : 111.5 May 2015 : 106.3

% change : -4.7

Alcoholic Beverages

And Tobacco Communication

May 2014 : 121.7 May 2015 : 135.4 % change : 11.3

May 2014 : 97.8 May 2015 : 100.3

% change : 2.6

Clothing Footwearand

Recreation, Services and

Culture

May 2014 : 98.6 May 2015 : 99.5

% change : 0.9

May 2014 : 105.0 May 2015 : 106.7

% change : 1.6

Housing, Water, Electricity and

Other Fuels

May 2014 : 108.6 May 2015 : 114.4

% change : 2.6

May 2014 : 109.6 May 2015 : 112.3

% change : 2.5

Education

Furnishings, Household , Equipment and Routine Household

Maintainance

May 2014 : 106.6 May 2015 : 109.4

% change : 2.6

May 2014 : 116.7 May 2015 :121.9

% change : 4.5

Restaurants Hotelsand

May 2014 : 109.4 May 2015 : 114.9

% change : 5.0

Mei. 2014 : 105.4 Mei 2015 : 110.0

% change : 4.4

Health Miscellaneous

Goods and Services

Note : % change year-on-year

-The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the percentage change through time in the cost of purchasing a constant basket of goods and services representing the average pattern of purchases made by a particular population in a specified time period

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World Competitiveness Ranking

Ranking out of 61 countries

MITI’s ASEAN Portal can be accessed via http://www.miti.gov.my/cms/aec2015 .jsp.

Source : http://www.imd.org/uupload/imd.website/wcc/scoreboard.pdf

COUNTRY 2014

100.0 96.0 95.0

92.0 84.1 69.8 60.2

60.0 Score

2015

1 4

12 29

37 2

3 USA 1

2 3 4 14 30 41 42

42 MALAYSIA

Thailand Philippines Indonesia Hong Kong Singapore Switzerland

’ and You’

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Note s: % change year-on-year

International Report

Singapore’s External Trade

Major Top 10 Trading Partners

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

China Malaysia USA Indonesia Hong Kong

SAR Taiwan ROK Japan Thailand Vietnam

49.2 47.5 32.8 30.8 25.3 25.4 21.3 20.2 12.3 8.1

49.5 39.8 31.4 25.1 24.4 21.7 19.1 18.9 12.3 10.1

S$billion

Jan - May 2014 Jan - May 2015

Top Export & Import Products to/from Malaysia Jan - May 2015

Exports Imports

Imports

Electrical Machinery Sound , Recorders Reproducers Television , Image Sound Recorders Reproducers & Parts (HS85) Mineral Fuel Oils Waxes & Products & Bituminous Substances (HS27)

Plastics & Articles Thereof (HS39)

Optical Photographic ,Cinematographic Measuring Instruments etc (HS90) Nuclear Reactors Boilers Machinery & Mechanical Appliances & Parts (HS48) Natural Cultural Pearls Precious Stones & Metals & Imitation Jewellery Coins (HS71)

Nuclear Reactors Boilers Machinery & Mechanical Appliances & Parts (HS84)

Source:MITI Singapore

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(Data is sourced from The Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute)

Source:http://thegedi.org/research/womens-entrepreneurship-index/

Note: The Index focuses on high potential female entrepreneurs who are defined as ‘innovative, market- expanding, and export-oriented.’ The Index combines variables that measure agency and institutions in a composite index in order to capture the multi-dimensional aspects of female entrepreneurship development.

Female Entrepreneurship Index 2015

82.9 1

2 3 4 5 6 7

9 10 11 12 13 16 46 52 8

74.8 70.6 69.7 69.3 68.8 68.0 66.7 66.4 66.3 64.3 63.7 63.6 59.8 39.2 36.6

Rank Country Score

Australia

Denmark Netherlands

France Iceland

Thailand Sweden Finland Norway

Ireland

MALAYSIA Belgium Singapore

Switzerland

United Kingdom

United States of America

Ranking out of 77 countries

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9.00 9.50 10.00 10.50 11.00 11.50

2.45 2.50 2.55 2.60 2.65 2.70 2.75

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May

2014 2015

1 SGD = RM 100 THB = RM

100 THB = RM 10.75 1 SGD = RM 2.70

Source : http://www.gold.org/investments/statistics/gold_price_chart/

Source : http://www.hardassetsalliance.com/charts/silver-price/usd/oz

Malaysian Ringgit Exchange Rate with Singapore Dollar and Thai Baht

Gold Prices, 13 February - 19 June 2015

Silver Prices, 13 February - 19 June 2015

Source : Bank Negara, Malaysia

39.6

38.7

35.0 36.0 37.0 38.0 39.0 40.0 41.0 42.0 43.0

13 Feb 20 Feb 27 Feb 6 Mar 13 Mar 20 Mar 27 Mar 3 Apr 10 Apr 17 Apr 24 Apr 29 Apr 8 May 15 May 22 May 29 May 5 Jun 12 Jun 19 Jun

US$/Gram Gold

17.4

16.1

14.5 15.0 15.5 16.0 16.5 17.0 17.5 18.0

13 Feb 20 Feb 27 Feb 6 Mar 13 Mar 20 Mar 27 Mar 3 Apr 10 Apr 17 Apr 24 Apr 29 Apr 8 May 15 May 22 May 29 May 5 Jun 12 Jun 19 Jun

US$/Oz Silver

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Source: Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Malaysia

Notes: The preference giving countries under the GSP scheme are Switzerland, the Russian Federation, Norway and Cambodia.

AJCEP: ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (Implemented since 1 February 2009)

ACFTA: ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (Implemented since 1 July 2003)

AKFTA: ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement (Implemented since 1 July 2006)

AANZFTA: ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (Implemented since 1 January 2010)

AIFTA: ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (Implemented since 1 January 2010) ATIGA: ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (Implemented since 1 May 2010)

MICECA: Malaysia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Implemented since 1 July 2011) MNZFTA: Malaysia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (Implemented since 1 August 2010)

MCFTA: Malaysia-Chile Free Trade Agreement (Implemented since 25 February 2012)

MAFTA: Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement (Implemented since 1 January 2013)

MPCEPA: Malaysia-Pakistan Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (Implemented since 1 January 2008) MJEPA: Malaysia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (Implemented since 13 July 2006)

26 Apr 3 May 10 May 17 May 24 May 31 May 7 Jun 14 Jun

AANZFTA 76 54 66 78 85 86 78 77

AIFTA 125 129 149 167 130 154 128 89

AJCEP 59 37 97 54 81 78 58 56

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

RM million

ATIGA 944 630 793 1,004 811 1,453 918 942

ACFTA 1,150 555 635 634 774 542 632 762

AKFTA 231 160 210 1,955 431 2,433 305 91

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000

RM million

MICECA 48.47 36.94 40.91 68.16 63.69 46.88 58.06 43.12

MNZFTA 0.35 0.14 0.06 0.28 0.32 0.05 0.14 0.16

MCFTA 6.10 5.82 24.68 38.86 22.92 5.09 24.81 20.97

MAFTA 37.35 29.77 26.38 38.37 29.92 51.69 37.80 34.62

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

RM million

26 Apr 2015 3 May 2015 10 May 2015 17 May 2015 24 May 2015 31 May 2015 7 Jun 2015 14 Jun 2015

AANZFTA 804 640 689 826 978 774 841 799

AIFTA 533 507 649 636 609 599 605 527

AJCEP 209 121 191 210 236 187 170 196

ATIGA 4,231 3,331 4,009 4,872 4,573 4,126 4,390 4,548

ACFTA 1,618 1,196 1,355 1,571 1,659 1,461 1,653 1,319

AKFTA 941 650 704 934 769 1,173 816 670

MICECA 338 262 335 383 337 289 362 279

MNZFTA 16 2 4 11 15 6 8 2

MCFTA 46 57 51 63 55 43 71 75

MAFTA 428 317 343 410 349 352 494 438

MJEPA 866 659 797 849 930 802 844 687

MPCEPA 141 112 149 115 176 207 138 137

GSP 134 104 110 140 132 131 188 97

MJEPA 136 88 128 141 177 146 220 133

MPCEPA 18 17 20 14 58 88 21 27

GSP 21 13 34 25 20 19 22 16

0 50 100 150 200 250

RM million

Value of Preferential Certificates of Origin

Number and Value of Preferential Certificates of Origin (PCOs)

Number of Certificates (Provisional data)

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Commodity Crude Petroleum (per bbl)

Crude Palm Oil (per MT)

Sugar Raw (per MT)

Rubber SMR 20 (per MT)

Cocoa SMC 2 (per MT)

(per MT)Coal

Scrap Iron (per MT)HMS

19 June 2015

(US$) 59.6 663.5 249.8 1,570.5 2,188.9 46.2 280 (high)

260 (low)

% change* 0.6 1.3 1.8 0.9 0.7 5.4 unchangedunchanged

2014ⁱ 54.6 - 107.6 823.3 352.3 1,718.3 2,615.8 59.8 370.0

2013ⁱ 88.1 - 108.6 805.5 361.6 2,390.8 1,933.1 .. 485.6

Commodity Prices

Notes: All figures have been rounded to the nearest decimal point

* Refer to % change from the previous week’s price i Average price in the year except otherwise indicated n.a Not availble

Sources: Ministry of International Trade and Industry Malaysia, Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Malaysian Rubber Board, Malaysian Cocoa Board, Malaysian Iron and Steel Industry Federation, Bloomberg and Czarnikow Group.

Highest and Lowest Prices, 2014/2015

Lowest (US$ per bbl) Highest

(US$ per bbl)

Crude Petroleum (19 June 2015) US$59.6 per bbl

13 June 2014: 107.62014 2014

26 Dec 2014: 54.6 29 May 2015: 60.32015 2015

13 Mar 2015: 44.8

Lowest (US$ per MT) Highest

(US$ per MT)

Crude Palm Oil (19 June 2015) US$663.5 per MT

14 Mar 2014: 982.52014 2014

26 Dec 2014: 664.0 16 Jan 2015: 701.02015 2015

6 Feb 2015: 621.0

Steel Bars

(per MT) RM1,760 - RM1,860

Average Domestic Prices, 19 June 2015

Billets

(per MT) RM1,420 - RM1,480

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Sources: Ministry of International Trade and Industry Malaysia, Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Malaysian Rubber Board, Malaysian Cocoa Board, Malaysian Pepper Board, Malaysian Iron and Steel Industry Federation, Bloomberg and Czarnikow Group, World Bank.

Commodity Price Trends

658.5 661.0

651.5 659.5

656.5

647.0

654.0 655.0

648.8 660.0

672.0

663.5

630 635 640 645 650 655 660 665 670 675

3 Apr 10 Apr 17 Apr 24 Apr 29 Apr 8 May 15 May 22 May 29 May 5 Jun 12 Jun 19 Jun

US$/mt

Crude Palm Oil

2,042.9 2,017.1

2,042.1 2,067.5

2,045.4 2,143.9

2,109.6 2,260.7

2,186.5 2,213.8

2,143.0

2,173.62,188.9

1,900 1,950 2,000 2,050 2,100 2,150 2,200 2,250 2,300

27 Mar 3 Apr 10 Apr 17 Apr 24 Apr 29 Apr 8 May 15 May22 May29 May 5 Jun 12 Jun 19 Jun

US$/mt

Cocoa

275.5 275.5 283.6

291.8

287.0 288.8 287.5 278.3

262.3 263.4 254.3

249.8

220 230 240 250 260 270 280 290 300

US$/mt

Raw Sugar

1,403.0 1,373.0

1,390.0 1,405.0

1,435.0

1,502.01,510.0 1,523.5

1,629.0 1,615.5

1,584.0

1,570.5

1,350 1,400 1,450 1,500 1,550 1,600 1,650

US$/mt

Rubber SMR 20

5,740 5,779 5,843

6,245 6,469

6,515 6,864

7,822

7,707 7,967

7,894 7,806

7,507 7,286 7,267

7,853

7,148 6,895

5,000 5,500 6,000 6,500 7,000 7,500 8,000 8,500

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

2014 2015

USD/ tonne

Black Pepper

* until 19 June 2015

49.1 51.6

55.7 57.2

58.6 59.4 59.7 59.7 60.3

59.1 60.0 59.6

55.0 57.9

63.5

65.3 64.6 65.4 66.8

65.4 65.6

63.3 63.9 63.0

40 45 50 55 60 65 70

US$/bbl

Crude Petroleum

Crude Petroleum (WTI)/bbl Crude Petroleum (Brent)/bbl

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Sources: Ministry of International Trade and Industry Malaysia, Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Malaysian Rubber Board, Malaysian Cocoa Board, Malaysian Pepper Board, Malaysian Iron and Steel Industry Federation, Bloomberg and Czarnikow Group, World Bank.

Commodity Price Trends

1,727

1,695 1,705 1,811

1,751 1,839 1,948

2,030

1,990 1,946

2,056

1,909

1,815 1,818

1,774 1,819

1,804

1,500 1,600 1,700 1,800 1,900 2,000 2,100

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May

2014 2015

US$/ tonne

Aluminium

14,101 14,204 15,678

17,374 19,401

18,629 19,118

18,600 18,035

15,812 15,807 15,962

14,849 14,574

13,756

12,831 13,511

12,000 13,000 14,000 15,000 16,000 17,000 18,000 19,000 20,000

2014 2015

US$/ tonne

Nickel

270.0 270.0 270.0 270.0 270.0 270.0 270.0 270.0 270.0

280.0 280.0 280.0

250.0 250.0 250.0 250.0 250.0 250.0 250.0 250.0 250.0

260.0 260.0 260.0

200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340

13 Mar 20 Mar 27 Mar 3 Apr 10 Apr 17 Apr 24 Apr 8 May 15 May 29 May 5 Jun 19 Jun

US$/mt

Scrap Iron

Scrap Iron/MT (High) Scrap Iron/MT(Low)

7,291 7,149

6,650 6,674 6,891

6,821 7,113

7,002 6,872

6,737 6,713

6,446

5,831 5,729

5,940 6,042

6,295

5,500 5,700 5,900 6,100 6,300 6,500 6,700 6,900 7,100 7,300 7,500

2014 2015

US$/ tonne

Copper

58.2 56.4

55.2 54.4

53.3

52.0 51.8 51.6 50.3

49.1 48.8

46.2

40.0 42.0 44.0 46.0 48.0 50.0 52.0 54.0 56.0 58.0 60.0

US$/mt

Coal

128.1 121.4

111.8 114.6

100.6

92.7 96.192.6

82.4 81.0

74.0

68.0 68.0

63.0 58.0

52.0 60.0

40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0 110.0 120.0 130.0 140.0

2014 2015

US$/dmtu

Iron Ore

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DR Group was formed out of a love for chocolate almost 20 years ago, when an opportunity was seized to fill a vacuum in the chocolate industry in Malaysia.

Since its first business in the Malaysian Duty Free Airports, the Group has since diversified its core business offerings to include trading, distribution, manufacturing, property development and investment. With a staff strength of 140-strong, DR Group now has four homegrown mouth- watering chocolate brands that are manufactured by its subsidiary company, Quantum Supplies, which also actively involves in original equipment manufacturing (OEM).

MOULDING A CHOCOLATE DREAM

Quantum Supplies, DR Group’s subsidiary company has two chocolate factories that currently manufacture its own range of unique chocolates under four original and exclusive brand names of Danson, Farell, Fidani and Milton. In the early 1980s, many well-known reputable brands were not available in Malaysia. Most chocolate brands had to be imported from Singapore. Identifying an opportunity, the company became a trader in importing and distributing chocolates in the country. The company initially began with being distributors for Tobler of Switzerland. Slowly, other brands followed suit.

The company works in a very niche market of the industry, where the sole focus lies in export, tourism and airport operations. Currently, DR Group is present in all major airports within Malaysia such as Penang, Langkawi (Kedah), Kota Kinabalu (Sabah), Labuan and Kuching (Sarawak).Moving forward from the 80s, DR Group acquired a factory in Batu Tiga, Selangor where it formed a platform for their original equipment manufacturing (OEM) activities. Prior to this, DR Group actively worked with repackaging a variety of products, chocolates included. True to their nature of ensuring clients with quality and a service of excellence, the company managed to close a deal with Van Houten, an exclusive cocoa manufacturer in Amsterdam.

This formed a solid base for the company to learn and experience first-hand, all that was needed to run a successful chocolate making factory.

Quality assurance and consistency, tied with a certain discipline were key factors that allowed many global brands to work with DR Group. Some well-known names the company manufactures for – include Morinaga (Japan) and Nestle. To support their growing business and chocolate demands, DR Group invests a significant sum in research and development to ensure all their processes and technologies are up to par with industry expectations.Besides this, all necessary certifications and accreditations were in place

DR GROUP HOLDINGS SDN BHD

early in the business, ensuring that the company was ready for international penetration. Among certifications obtained include GMP, Halal, ISO 9001 and ISO 20000:2005 and HACCP certifications.The company also invested in automated machinery to ensure unparalleled consistency and quality of their chocolates. Shifting from semi-automated to fully- automated machinery required a significant amount of capital, all of which was in place to ensureless room for mistakes.

The firm is proud to have pioneered the concept of chocolate boutiques in the country, being the first to be brave enough to venture into this area of the business. Looking back, they have definitely been trendsetters in the region. As such, DR Group caused a lot of ripples in the market, particularly with regards to its innovative marketing campaign.

DR Group’s hard work and meticulous efforts did not go unnoticed as the firm has won a range of awards over the years. Their exclusive brand, Fidani, has won Most Innovative Chocolate by the Malaysian Cocoa Board, the Best Manufacturer (2004) – Malaysian Cocoa Board and Most Ingenious Packaging by the International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) for three years (2007, 2008 and 2010).

Other prestigious awards include the 2011 Duty Free News International Award for Best New Confectionery and Fine Food Store, 2009 Duty Free News International award for Best Marketing Campaign (Confectionery and Fine Food) throughout the World, 2007 Malaysia Tourism Award for Best Speciality Shop and many others.

PROGRESSING FURTHER

Leveraging on MATRADE trade missions and exhibitions has been key in ensuring a steady stream of overseas business for the company.Dato’ Dahlan Rashid, Group Managing Director and Founder of DR Group speaks highly of the assistance rendered by SME Corp and other government agencies for equipment and machinery when the business was in its infant stages.

Dahlan views MATRADE as an agency that is necessary and crucial for entrepreneurs in the country seeking to penetrate the global market, without the hassle of verification they would need if they proceeded independently. Right business matching is important for the success of a company dealing with international buyers and suppliers alike.

Address: No. 2, Jln Teknologi 3/5

Taman Sains Selangor 1,Kota Damansara 47810 Petaling Jaya

Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Tel. Number: (603) 7491 4460 Fax Number: (603) 6140 6314 Email: [email protected]

DR Group Holdings Sdn Bhd

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MITI Programme

Briefing on 11

^th

Malaysia Plan by Economic Planning Unit - Role of the Private Sector, 17 June 2015

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Majlis IFTAR YB Menteri MITI Ahli Parlimen Jeli, 19 Jun 2015

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MAJLIS PERDANA PERKHIDMATAN AWAM KEEMPAT BELAS (MAPPA XIV) 17 June 2015

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Quote of The Day

“Do not attempt to stand alone....The most fatal thing a man can do is try to stand alone”.

Carson McCullers, American Writer of novels and short stories, 1917-1967

Announcement

The new MITI Portal went live on 19 June 2015 (Thursday) and sports a more refreshing look with enhanced features and functionalities. Among the highlights of the new Portal are:

• A dedicated Website for Free Trade Agreements

• Tariff Calculator

• Glossary of Trade / Industry-related terms

• Mandarin Language option for MITI Portal

• Good Regulatory Practice Website

Visit the Portal regularly as we will be releasing the following in the COMING WEEKS:

• Mobile Apps

o Strategic Trade Items Finder o Tariff Calculator

• E-Book Shelf

• Enhanced version of the MITI Blog

Take a quick (video) tour of the new MITI Portal and let us have your feedback.

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