Image: Courtesy Oriental Daily
The president of Chinese Chamber of Commerce Kuala Selangor and Sabak Bernam District, Chen Bai Quan urged small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and businesses to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Belt & Road Initiative to venture into the ASEAN market, according to an Oriental Daily News article of 3 December 2017.
Speaking in Kuala Selangor, Chen urged Malaysian SMEs to work with their China counterparts to improve their products quality, to lower their production costs and to cooperate in venturing into ASEAN.
He pointed out that the West Coast Expressway currently under construction between Kuala Lumpur and Klang coastal areas will once completed bring economic development to these areas.
“The Ministry of Tourism and Culture predicted that there will be eight million tourists from China visiting Malaysia next year, if 800,000 of them visit Klang coastal areas, I believe that there will be unlimited business opportunities, I therefore call upon businessmen to seize the opportunity in launching tourism products,” Chen said during the 66th anniversary luncheon cum swearing in ceremony of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce Kuala Selangor and Sabak Bernam District that afternoon.
Meanwhile, deputy president of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Lim Sing said since the Malaysian market is too small, especially younger Malaysian businessmen must look towards venturing in a big way into other markets within ASEAN and the China market.
Lim cautioned that close to the next general elections, partisan persons would spread nagative news claiming that the market’s in a bad shape and that Malaysia’s economy was about to go bankrupt at any time when the experience of the past 13 general elections has proven such claims to be wrong and the economy had survived.
“To seize political power, these people have been creating rumors to try to weaken the confidence of the people and disrupting national development,” he added.
Meanwhile, president of the ACCIM of Tan Sri Lim Kuang Sia urged the government to create an amicable business environment for the SMEs in order to effectively drive the Belt and Road Initiative.
He noted that some of the SMEs are worried that the Belt and Road Initiative would result in more enterprises from China to come and occupy our market but instead urged SMEs to be brave to face the challenges and take advantage of the business opportunities which would result from the Belt and Road Initiative.
Second Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan said that under the Belt and Road Initiative, the total trade volume in the first nine months had reached RM1.3 trillion, up 21.7% over the same period last year.
“China is our biggest trade partner; our products exported to China include palm oil and electronic products”, Ong said.
He said the Belt and Road Initiative had benefitted Malaysia, so we should welcome the initiative.
Ong also pointed out that based on the current performance, Malaysia’s annual export growth rate is 16.6% according to the 2017/18 Economic Report.
