Malaysian Deputy PM to inaugurate Hyrax Oil blending plant in Muthurajawela

By Zahara Zuhair
As the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister will be on a visit to Sri Lanka this week, High Commissioner of Malaysia to Sri Lanka Wan Zaidiwan Abdullah said during his visit, they would be discussing many aspects related bilateral trade, security, employment and education.

“His visit is aimed at discussing bilateral issues between Malaysia and Sri Lanka and trying to find solutions to them. One of the issues that will be discussed is the possibility of sending Sri Lankan employees to Malaysia,” High Commissioner Abdullah told the 22nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Sri Lanka- Malaysia Business Council hosted by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), last week. 

He also said during his visit the Deputy Prime Minister is set to inaugurate the construction of the manufacturing and blending facility of Malaysian lubricant giant Hyrax in Muthurajawela.
“They invested about US $ 10 million on the plant, and it will be ready after one year,” he told Mirror Business.

The agreement in this regard was signed between Hyrax oil and Ceylon Petroleum Corp (CPC) during the visit of Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Dato’ Sri Mustafa, in May 2016.
High Commissioner Abdullah said that since the successful visit of the minister, there has not been a single week without the presence of a Malaysian business delegation in Colombo. “So the interest of Malaysian businesses to have trade and investment relationship with Sri Lanka is significantly growing,” 
he said.
He also said that they anticipate high level visits from both countries as there is a possibility of Sri Lankan President visiting Malaysia on a state visit in December this year and Malaysian Prime Minister visiting Sri Lanka in November 2016.
He noted that as the bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Malaysia remains imbalanced, as Malaysia has full advantage of having 5:1 ratio, he said they were looking forward moving towards a more balanced trade.
According to the CCC data, in 2015, Sri Lanka’s exports to Malaysia amounted to US $ 35.19 million and imports from Malaysia amounted to US $ 511.94, creating a trade balance of US $ 476.75 in favour of Malaysia. High Commissioner Abdullah said that being the biggest investor in Sri Lanka at the moment they were happy about the amount of investments happening in Sri Lanka, but they expected more investments to come.

“Malaysian companies are very keen in venturing into the Sri Lankan market. We anticipate more investments from Malaysia to Sri Lanka—not government projects, but some private projects. It will be for tourism development, also in fisheries sector; not only service but also manufacturing. 
We are discussing the possibility of having a FTA as well and also to promote education; but at the moment mainly economy and trade,” he noted.

He also said the Sri Lankan government was trying very hard to ensure what they do suit the people of the country and also 
being transparent.