More companies are urged to register with the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) in order to benefit from the services offered and obtain assistance to enhance their export readiness with a view of penetrating as well as expanding into the international markets.
MATRADE’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Exporters Development), Abu Bakar Yusof, hoped that more exporting companies, especially from Penang, register as MATRADE members as the current numbers were still relatively small as compared to other States in Malaysia.
As of 30 April 2022, a total of 11,123 Malaysian companies have registered with MATRADE, of which, 1,740 companies are from the Northern Region. From the 1,740, a total of 898 are active companies from Penang.
“We look forward for more companies from Penang to register as a MATRADE member. Penang is one of the largest contributors of Malaysia’s exports. Among the major products exported are transport equipment, manufactured goods, chemicals and chemical products, non-food raw materials as well as food products,” he said.
He added, “We believe that there are companies that have not registered with MATRADE yet, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Registration with MATRADE is free and companies stand to benefit from our assistance programmes, including capacity building and training, market intelligence reports, access to trade leads of international buyers and importers, as well as a series of export promotional activities, including cross border e-commerce.”
Abu Bakar was speaking at the opening of the Export Day event, which was organised by MATRADE in collaboration with Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and Exim Bank. The one-day event held in Penang was attended by more than 250 entrepreneurs and exporters from various industry sectors.
He added that the event was part of the government’s efforts to reach out to companies in Malaysia and hoped that more businesses would be aware of MATRADE’s role in nurturing home-grown global champions.
“MATRADE is committed to assist companies of all sizes, especially SMEs, and provides the solutions as well as relevant support to enable them to gain wider market access and to connect with the global supply chain. For our efforts to be more effective, we need all the support we can get including from SMEs, to realise this goal.” Abu Bakar said.
World Trade Promotion Organizations (WTPO) Award
MATRADE recently won the WTPO Award for ‘Best Use of Information Technology’. MATRADE was announced as the winner in this category at the World Trade Promotion Awards and Conference 2022 held in Accra, Ghana, on 17 May.
The award was organised by the International Trade Centre (ITC), a joint agency of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the United Nations. MATRADE was chosen as the winner by the panel of judges for its initiative in organising the virtual edition of the 17th Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) 2021.
The digitalisation of MIHAS 2021 has proven to be effective in assisting small and medium enterprise (SME) in the halal industry to continue growing their exports despite disruptions from COVID-19. In addition, the virtual showcase has proven that it was able to open up new markets and made business connections more convenient and cost-effective.
