July 06, 1999
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| July 06, 1999 | atimes.com | |
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| Southeast Asia Ringgit depreciation gives Malaysian goods competitive edge KUALA LUMPUR - The depreciation of the ringgit, especially against the U.S. dollar, has improved Malaysia's competitiveness in the supply of electrical and electronic components and products, a Malaysian trade official said Monday. ''Malaysian products are very competitive now following the weaker ringgit as compared to about two years ago,'' said Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) director of Trade Advisory and Training Sukandar Abdul Latif. In 1998, the exports of electrical and electronics products contributed about 53 percent or RM152.1 billion ($40 billion) to Malaysia's total exports, he told reporters at a ''Business Matching Between International Procurement Offices'' session organised by MATRADE. He said the largest destination was the United States, which accounted for 30.6 percent of the figure, followed by Singapore (19.4 percent) and Japan (9.2 percent). Sukandar said there are indications that the economic crisis faced by the region is expected to experience a gradual turnaround by the second half of 1999, thus creating increased demand for electrical/electronics products. The overall demand for competitively priced externally sourced electrical and electronics parts and components by foreign buyers has also increased, he said. ''This has resulted in many multinational electrical/electronics companies outsourcing or subcontracting parts and components manufactured,'' he added. He said the Ministry of International Trade and Industry has approved the establishment of 34 international procurement centres in Malaysia while the Ministry of Finance has approved 44 operational headquarters. On Monday's matching program, Sukandar said this was the second event arranged by MATRADE with Singapore-based international procurement offices; the first was held last year. This time, representatives from six offices that represent multinational companies participated and they have confirmed a total of 45 meetings with 29 Malaysian manufacturers/companies Monday, he said. (Asia Pulse/Bernama) | |||||||||
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