Leading Malaysian manufacturers visit EDB

At the request of the Sri Lankan High Commission in Malaysia, the Export Development Board (EDB) met the trade delegation from the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) recently, at the EDB. 

The 11-member Malaysian team visited the EDB and discussed potential business, joint ventures and export and import opportunities between the two countries. 

The delegation comprised of leading Malaysian companies from the sectors of food and beverage, apparel, office furniture, logistics, waste management and recycling, packaging and construction materials, etc. 

Hi Style Apparel Sdn Bhd, a company in the fashion industry with 30 chain stores in Malaysia and Singapore, is interested in sourcing products such as T-shirts, cotton pants, jeans and bags from Sri Lanka. The EDB has organised a few business-to-business meetings for this company with Sri Lankan apparel sector companies. 

A member from Malaysia’s leading thermo-vacuum plastic packaging company also visited with the delegation.

According to Tan Len Hock, the leader of the delegation, the FMM was established in 1968 and the FMM has consistently led Malaysian manufacturers in spearheading the country’s growth and modernization.

As the largest private sector economic organisation in Malaysia, representing over 3,000 manufacturing and industrial service companies of varying sizes, the FMM is the officially recognized voice of the industry.

Trade between Sri Lanka and Malaysia has grown moderately over the past decade. The aggregate bilateral trade increased from US $ 384 million in 2007 to US $ 648 million by 2017 (January to November). As a trading partner, Malaysia is the seventh largest source of imports to Sri Lanka in 2017.

Sri Lanka imported goods worth US $ 599 million from Malaysia in 2017 (January to November), accounting for 3.1 percent of inflows into the country. Conversely, Malaysia ranked at the 35th place in terms of Sri Lanka’s export markets, with Sri Lanka exporting US $ 49 million, which is 0.5 percent of total exports to Malaysia.

The main exports from Sri Lanka are vegetable products, rubber articles, textiles and clothing and food products. The imports from Malaysia include fuel, vegetables, machinery, electronics and wood products.