Malaysia is keen to invest in Bangladesh, increase bilateral trade
Last year, bilateral trade between Malaysia and Bangladesh reached RM10.66 billion ($2.57 billion)
The Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Haznah Md Hashim Tuesday in a webinar stressed the importance of having a trade agreement in place to further enhance the bilateral trade activities between Malaysia and Bangladesh.
In her keynote address, she also encouraged the Malaysian companies to leverage the strong Malaysian branding among local Bangladeshis and not only expand their business in Bangladesh along with looking into investments in Bangladesh.
Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), the export promotion agency of Malaysia in collaboration with the Bangladesh–Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI) organised the webinar 'Exploring Business Opportunities in Bangladesh and Malaysia".
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This was the first MATRADE and BMCCI collaboration to promote trade between the two countries after two years.
The webinar hosted by MATRADE on the Zoom platform attracted 347 participants from both Malaysia and Bangladesh.
Syed Almas Kabir, President of BMCCI, and Amran Yem, Senior Director at MATRADE spoke on behalf of their organisations.
The objectives of the webinar are to update Malaysian and Bangladeshi companies on the new business and investment opportunities in both countries, to promote Bangladesh as an attractive business destination, and to promote Malaysia as an attractive investment destination for Bangladeshi companies.
Speakers included Ariful Hoque, director of registration and incentives-1 (Commercial) of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Roswaidin Mohd Zain, director of Malaysia Investment Development Authority (MIDA) in Mumbai and Muzzafar Shah Hanafi, trade commissioner of MATRADE Chennai.
Syed Almas Kabir elaborated on the government's strategic plan, and Vision 2041. Syed Almas Kabir also highlighted the growing interest among Bangladeshi corporations in investing in Malaysia. He informed that BMCCI is going to organise 'Showcase Bangladesh 2022' in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in September 2022.
Muzzafar Shah Hanafi said, "We believe there is surging demand for goods and services as the world gradually enters the post-pandemic phase. The session was also organised to inform of MATRADE services".
Last year, bilateral trade between Malaysia and Bangladesh reached RM10.66 billion ($2.57 billion).
Bangladesh imports from Malaysia stood at RM9.36 billion ($2.26 billion).
Bangladesh's export to Malaysia stood at RM1.3 billion ($314 million). Top trading goods between the two countries were petroleum, plastic articles, garments, machinery equipment, and palm oil.
