1 day event
Malaysia Trade & Export Finance Conference 2015
Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur
October, 27, 2015
With external trade and exports constituting a key source of growth for the Malaysian economy, the volatility affecting global markets is significantly impacting the country’s growth prospects. Despite this the Asean bloc is maintaining a relatively strong level of growth whilst offering a competitive supply and manufacturing base, providing optimism for those investing in the region.
Providing the keynote address at Global Trade Review’s Malaysia Trade & Export Finance Conference 2015 on October 27, Rajiv Biswas, IHS’ Senior Economist for Apac Rajiv Biswas gave a detailed breakdown of economic performance in Malaysia and across the Asian region, highlighting strong year on year growth of Malaysia’s export volumes despite economic headwinds causing a slowdown in demand from key trade partners. The export growth was in large part explained by the drop in the value of the Malaysian Ringgit and the resulting increase in the competitiveness of Malaysian exports.
The conference welcomed senior decision makers from the corporate, financial and government sectors to discuss the challenges and priorities of Malaysian exporters, the regional trade sector and the key concerns of those doing business in the country. Official support was received from corporate companies such as Petronas and Olam International who widely commended the domestic and regional banking sector for the provision of relevant trade and supply chain financing products, but highlighted the fact that the key to adding value for their corporate clients and differentiating themselves from competitors, lies in the provision of trade financing expertise and the delivery of an effective service.
“With a question mark now positioned over Asia’s – and specifically China’s – ability to continue to act as an engine for global trade growth, the resulting waves of volatility across both physical goods and financial markets mean companies and financiers now have to review their strategy for both achieving growth and managing risk” said George Mitchell, Senior Conference Producer for GTR on the side-lines of the event. Conference speaker Tan Chin Aun, Senior General Manager for Ambank also commented, “The future of Asean is soundly and firmly in the hands of the Asean community – the region’s prosperity and potential truly is in the hands of its citizens regardless of whether they are from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore or Thailand. Everyone within Asean wants to make Asean an economic power region with strong human and labour rights practice”.
Speakers and delegates held a general consensus that while it is still too early to detect any real and significant impact, the enactment of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) stands to offer huge benefits to Malaysia’s corporate and financial sectors, though there is a risk that the impact may be softened by ratification of other inter-regional trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
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