50 Sa u d i Co m m e r c e a n d Ec o n o m i c Re v i e w /Iss u e 237/Ja n u a r y 2014 INTErVIEW in Malaysian Investments Rise Mr. Abdul Halim. Annuar Khairul tures for countries,” both he observed. ven- business beneficial mutually create comparativea Malaysiahasadvantage to where areas in business especially communities Malaysian for investment opportunities abundant offered have to Economic Review. “Saudi Arabia appears & Commerce Saudi the with interview recent a in (MATRADE), Corporation Jeddah-based Development Trade the External Malaysian of Trade Commissioner Halim, Abdul Annuar Khairul Mr. by disclosed was This Arabia. Saudi Hajj seasons. facilities and food during the Umrah and the growing demand for accommodation nesses in Makkah, particularly to cater to busi- management restaurant and hotel in invested has Makkah.Felda in project Development Omar Jabal landmark the in engaged UEM and Riyadh in Tower Kingdom landmark the of construction the in involved that Group Engineering Eversendai Mina, in areas surrounding and Bridge Jamarat the improving for Bhd Sdn Persys (KAUST), Technology KingAbdullahUniversity and Science of and Riyadh in University Al-Faisal for Berhad Resources Zaki Ahmad world, largest the the in plant water and Project, power combined Power & Water Independent Shuaibah and the for Malakoff TNB Khazanah, of consortium a management, restaurant and hotel for Felda or Authority Development Land MalaysianFederalinclude them among Prominent investments. significant with Kingdom the in feltpresence their made already have firms Malaysian of number A partners. Saudi their with cooperation venture into the Kingdom successfully in prompted to companiesMalaysianmore has policy economic liberalized the with coupled climate business favorable ous Mala r Karl ad ht h continu - the that said Khairul Mr. y sia is increasingly investing in in investing increasingly is INTErVIEW Sa u d i Co m m e r c e a n d Ec o n o m i c Re v i e w /Iss u e 237/Ja n u a r y 2014 51 In In the services sector, Malaysian In terms of exchanges of goods, Potato, Potato, Mamee, Lexus, Delico, Santan, Royal Enchanteur, Brahim’s, Chef, Top Glove and the national car PROTON. Malaysian franchisors are also making the throughout outlets their with headway Kingdom such as Marrybrown, Rotiboy, Corn in Cup, DairyNelson’s D’Tandoor, MFM. and Fresh their beenex- have providing companies human including fields pertisevarious in - ho training resources and management, tel ICT, and management operations, IT, smart city technology & e-government, total integrated facility (FM), management architectural management services, services, Islamic banking project and finance and green technology solutions. environment cluding in- Malaysian imports from the Kingdom are mainly, nearly 90 while leum exportsproducts, its to Saudi percent, petro - electricalelec - principally and are Arabia Children from multi-culture from Children origins - In In 2008, 3 projects with Saudi par Malaysian Products Products Malaysian A range of brands Malaysian are products gaining and popularity Saudi in Market. the Ali Mister Café, They Bonia, OGAWA, Padini, include Khind, - invest with implemented were ticipation - com These million. $14.8 totaling ments panies are: JAMI-SWILYNN Sdn Bhd, CNLT (Far East) Sdn Bhd and CNLT (Far East) Sdn Bhd. Apart from them, two Saudi companies were approved for Regional Office (RO) status during the period of 2006-2008. One is Gulf Axis Contracting Establishment which - pro vides promotional services Malaysian companies to to work with Gulf attract Axis in the execution of other services in and general contracting projects and oil sector. The GCC-ASEAN Economic Centre promotes and coordinates eco- nomic activities (trading, industrial in- vestment) in major areas in oil & gas, particularly education, financeand also organizes events such as seminars and conferences. - Saudi Saudi Arabia also has a strong presence in with big investments - com mitted by the Saudi Telecom Company May of as addition, In Bank. Rajhi Al and 2009, there were a total of 10 - manufac turing projects approved with the par Saudi Investments Investments Saudi - invest with Arabia Saudi from ticipation $61.2 Saudi million. to amounting ments following the in mainly were investments - electron manufacturing, food industries: & electricalproducts, & ics products, plastics products and - machin ery & equipment. Mr. Khairul has anidentified Mr. assortment of lucrative economic sectors in which Malaysian companies have the - possibil in ity of the investments more Kingdom. These are mainly in the fields of- petro chemicals, crude oil refining, ers, power and mining water, and fertiliz - metal processing, transport and logistics, in- formation and communication - technol ogy (ICT), healthcare & life science and education. Lucrative Sectors Lucrative 52 Sa u d i Co m m e r c e a n d Ec o n o m i c Re v i e w /Iss u e 237/Ja n u a r y 2014 INTErVIEW finance in industry Malaysia. Islamic the of development the in stone Marketplace”, marking a significant- mile Finance World’s Islamic “Malaysia: tity, the world and the new iconic brand iden- Malaysia’s Islamic finance marketplace to introduced recently Razak, Abdul Tun Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Mr. Sri Mohd. Najib Bin finances, MinisterPrimeofnoted that the Khairul Islamic player developing global importantin an as gence Malaysia’semer on commenting While Islamic Finance largest of trading partner Malaysia. ally, while the Kingdom stood as the 19th tion and 16th largest import source - glob as Malaysia’s 22nd largest export destina- ranked Arabia Saudi 2012, In Kingdom. billion worth $2.5 of its total imports from and the Arabia Saudi to exports total lion, with Malaysia recording $1.2 billion bil- $3.7 at valued was Arabia Saudi and In 2012, bilateral trade between Malaysia Bilateral Trade machinery, chemicals products and products. wood iron/steel/metal, of forms primary other & ingots products, tronic - date, mentioned Mr. Khairul. the scribed; highest bid-to-cover year-to- oversub- times 2.92 was Murabahah of structure accepted widely the under GII of issuance billion) The ($1.3 billion industry. RM4.0 financial Islamic the in development important an as it scribing Murabahah-based a de- (GII) IssueInvestment Government of issuance ral marketingtistics, and education. risk management and audit as well as - sta ofdoingbusiness, ease infrastructure, es, areas of regulations, products- and servic lead in a number of global rankings in the the taken has Malaysia markets. equities Islamic and sukuk banking, Islamic the nations in Islamic finance, particularly in desti- leading the of one as emerged has anywhere world, inthe he said. nance marketplace for business deals from fi- Malaysia’s Islamic from emanate that flows deal and expertise innovation, the advantage of take marketparticipantscan overplayers years.30 industry Global and Finance significantly Islamicgrown has that Marketplace progressive and sive e eerd o h rcn inaugu- recent the to referred He Mr.Khairul elaborated that Malaysia comprehen- a place in has Malaysia il ly mr vtl oe n boosting in role vital more a play will nies. We are confidentthat AlRajhi Bank towardsMalaysiaMalaysianand compa - for having deep trust and optimistic view nies looking to invest inMalaysia. compa - Saudi and Kingdom the in ness efits to Malaysian companies doing busi- - ben and immeasurable providing Arabia Malaysia, Saudi both in Bank Rajhi Al of presence the noted Khairul Mr. Bank Al Rajhi and wealth management. fund Islamic and infrastructure opment devel- talent services, ancillary fessional pro- market, money Islamic re-takaful, and takaful market, capital Islamic ing, nance marketplace include Islamic - bank Malaysia’sofcomponents fi- Islamickey The settlement. and clearing currency multi- for system efficient an and capabilities- global with base talent diverse a mechanism, discovery price efficient an mary and active secondary sukuk market, pri- deep framework,a andlegal Shariah supervisory,regulatory, robust a by ized character today is marketplace finance “We are thankful to Al Rajhi Bank Bank Rajhi Al to thankful are “We He pointed out that Malaysia’s Islamic Malacca historical city - INTErVIEW Sa u d i Co m m e r c e a n d Ec o n o m i c Re v i e w /Iss u e 237/Ja n u a r y 2014 53 VMY 2014. In – Shamsul Huda – Shamsul MATRADE MATRADE Trade Office Jeddahin Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands and tea plantations Highlands and tea Cameron Malaysia’s targeting targeting to receive 28 million foreign tourist arrivals during 2012, Malaysia received around 25 mil- lion tourists with revenues amounting to RM60.6 billion ($20.2 billion). “Some 14.5 million tourists visited our heritage sites in 2012 and the total craft salesre- RM341 million ($113.6 million),” corded he noted. MATRADE’s Role MATRADE’s Mr. Khairul focused on activities MATRADE’s saying that it was established in March 1993 as a statutory agency un- der the Ministry of International Trade Industry Malaysia (MITI). As Malaysia’s national export promotion agency, is it responsible for assisting companies succeed Malaysian in the international markets. vision MATRADE’s of making Malaysia the premier exporting nation is paired with its mission to develop and exports the world. to Malaysia’s promote always welcomes enquiries to assist both Saudi and Malaysian companies to do business successfully in both countries, in line with the economic liberalization and investment facilitation provided by the both governments. isit isit Malaysia Year V - men worth is it that said Khairul Mr. When asked, Mr. Khairul pointed out out pointed Khairul Mr. asked, When isit isit Malaysia Year 2014 (VMY 2014)” tioning tioning that promoting Malaysia as a tourist destination is a national mission, as expressed by the Prime Minister Malaysia, of during the launching of “The V promotional campaign in 2013. January, The hosting of the 2014 as well as the designating of 2013 as a preparatory year are timely means to boost tourist arrivals. Malaysia is that that Saudis are increasingly interested in country easily Islamic an is it as Malaysia accessible with no visa required - before hand. Theother most important factors of Halal foodthe are availability in many restaurants, good shopping natural island facilities, and beaches, good elec- tronic markets and warm and friendly Malaysians. Mr. Mr. Khairul said that Malaysia has now become a favorite destination for Saudi Saudis 102,365 of total a 2012, In tourists. visited Malaysia. Between January and September 2013, Malaysia. there to traveling Saudis were 73,207 of of Renewable Corridor. Development Energy and Sabah Attractions Tourism Firstly, Firstly, there should be closer - coop Secondly, Saudi companies should eration eration between Saudi and in the development in project companies Malaysian Kingdom, for example, in power - gen eration, water desalination, infrastruc- ture projects and manufacturing. There should also be closer cooperation in the services sectors such as en- architecture, banking, management gineering, Islamic and maintenance of facilities and - build solutions. environmental and ings consider more investments in Malaysia. in corridors Malaysia New development can be considered for more Saudi vestments in- such as Development Region, Sarawak Corridor in the Iskandar Trade Relations Relations Trade While talking on the current state of - bi Malaysia that said Khairul Mr. ties, lateral - relation excellent and warm enjoyed has ships with the Kingdom since Malaysia has been regarded as a modern Islamic betrade - bilateral Nevertheless, country. tween and Malaysia Saudi Arabia is - rela tively small. He suggested the following the trade relations: enhance to measures business interest of Malaysian companies companies Malaysian of interest business do- companies Saudi and Arabia Saudi in said. he in Malaysia,” business ing