| As a member of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area, Malaysia provides a gateway to a market of over 500 million people with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $ 582.4 billion and total trade of $ 733.7 billion as per the 2002 estimates. |
| In 2002 Malaysia was the second largest contributor to intra-ASEAN trade, accounting for 26 per cent trade valued at $42.1 billion. In 2003 it became the largest contributor to intra-ASEAN trade. |
| Disclosing this at a CII roundtable meeting here, Tan Ah Yong, director of MIDA, explained the possibilities of technical collaborations and joint ventures between the Indian and the Malaysian companies in the machinery and equipment sub-sectors such as machine tools, plastic injection machines, material handling equipment, robotics and factory automation equipment, packaging machinery and specialised equipment for specific industrial sectors. |
| Malaysia's current imports are worth around $7 billion and exports around $ 3 billion worth machinery and equipment. |
| Elaborating on the priority status accorded by the Government of Malaysia to the development of the machinery and supporting industries sector, Yong acknowledged India's advancement in these sectors and urged the Indian businessmen to take advantage of the favourable investment climate and fiscal incentives for investing in these industries in Malaysia. |
| According to Yong, Malaysia has a well-developed engineering support industry, especially in the sub-sectors of mould and dies, metal casting, machining, metal stamping, surface treatment/finishing and heat treatment. |
| Hence, the collaboration between the Indian and the Malaysian companies in these industries would be very fruitful and go a long way in further developing these industrial sub-sectors in Malaysia, he said. |
| As part of their mission, a MIDA delegation visited select engineering industries in the city. |
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