Top Malaysian firms on export acceleration mission to Colombo

To further promote bilateral trade between Malaysia and Sri Lanka, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), the export promotion agency of Malaysia, will organise an export acceleration mission (EAM) to Colombo from October 11 to 14, 2016. A total of 17 Malaysian companies will be participating in this mission.

The companies consist of manufacturers of automotive products, building materials, detergents, electronic parking meters, electrical hardware and wiring accessories food and beverages, furniture and service providers for engineering services and industrial automation system. While in Colombo, the Malaysian companies will participate in the World Export Development Forum (WEDF) at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH). The second day sees MATRADE facilitating one-on-one business meetings between the Malaysian and Sri Lankan companies.
According to MATRADE Trade Commissioner South Asia Zuaziezie Zulkefli, “This export acceleration mission would give Sri Lankan companies the opportunity to meet manufacturers and service providers from Malaysia without having to travel to Malaysia. I hope that Sri Lankan companies would take advantage of this opportunity by participating in our pre-arranged business meetings, which will be held at Taj Samudra Hotel on October 13, 2016. Sri Lankan companies yet to register may walk into our one-on-one business meeting programme and we will arrange a meeting for you with these 17 Malaysian companies.”

The objective of this mission is to create a platform for Malaysian companies to explore business opportunities available in Sri Lanka. This mission is also aimed to give Malaysian companies the opportunity to evaluate their industry’s market potential, apart from making business deals with Sri Lankan companies. MATRADE envisions the export of Malaysian products and services to Sri Lanka could be improved via missions such as this export acceleration mission. 

In 2015, total bilateral trade between Malaysia and Sri Lanka was US $ 570.90 million. Malaysia’s total export to Sri Lanka stood at US $ 481.4 million and Malaysia’s imports from Sri Lanka in 2015 recorded an increase of 55.3 percent to US $ 89.5 million from US $ 57.6 million in 2014. 
From January to July 2016, Malaysia’s total bilateral trade with Sri Lanka was US $ 352.1 million, an increase of 3.5 percent from US $ 340 million compared with the same period in 2015.
Malaysia’s major exports to Sri Lanka from January to July 2016 were palm oil, chemicals and petroleum products, chemical products, electrical and electronic products and machinery appliances, which contribute about 63 percent of Malaysia’s total exports to Sri Lanka.