RM40b Of Mideast Deals Up For Grabs

Published: 2009/03/17

Despite the global economic slowdown, RM40 billion of business opportunities are available in the Middle East services sector.

Malaysia External Trade and Development Corp (Matrade) chief executive officer Datuk Noharuddin Nordin said there are many projects in that region which are on hold, to be reviewed, ongoing, or soon to be tendered and awarded.

"The Middle East region is flush with petrodollars and most of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain, are going ahead with their development plans financed by oil money.

"We have identified potential projects worth over RM40 billion in the region with over 500 potential companies," Noharuddin told Business Times at Matrade's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

He said that some businesses are shielded from the global crisis and thriving, such as fast-food chains, do-it-yourself stores, healthcare, education, information and communications technology (ICT), supermarkets and budget fashion lines.

To further promote Malaysian services overseas, Matrade organised the 2nd Malaysia Services Exhibition 2009, which is on at the Dubai Airport Expo Centre in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from today to Thursday.

The trade exhibition will be launched and spearheaded by International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who will also meet his counterpart, UAE foreign trade minister Sheik Lubna Al Qasimi.Last year, the exhibition was held in Sharjah in the UAE.

It attracted 3,656 visitors.The targeted markets include the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, African countries, India, Pakistan, and Central Asian countries such as Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

This year's exhibition will showcase the services of 202 Malaysian companies from 13 services clusters, including construction; engineering; technology and innovation; healthcare and hospital-related; ICT; and oil and gas.Other sectors are education and specialised training; energy and power generation; financial services; franchising; logistics, transportation and shipbuilding; professional services; design services; and Malaysian art galleries.

Some of the top Malaysian companies participating in the exhibition are IJM Corp Bhd, Bina Puri Holdings Bhd, WCT Bhd, AWC Facility Solutions Bhd, Malaysia Airlines Cargo Sdn Bhd (MASKargo), TNB Engineering and Consultancy Sdn Bhd, KPJ Healthcare Bhd, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, Affin Islamic Bank Bhd and Century Logistics Holdings Bhd.

Muhyiddin will also launch an oil and gas directory, which will help visitors from the region's oil and gas sector source for expertise and other support services from Malaysia's 155 oil and gas-based companies.

Noharuddin said the event will reinforce the good political and trade ties that Malaysia has established with Middle East nations and the surrounding countries."Now is a good time to be there to show that Malaysia is the market for the long term and will not pull out when times are bad," he said.

Noharuddin said Malaysia also wants to demonstrate to the region that its companies are as capable as, or even better than, those from Europe, Japan, South Korea and the US."We have to be on our feet because the Middle East region engages only the best and we have to show them that we are among the best in the world," he said.

According to the World Trade Organisation, world trade in services was valued at US$6.2 trillion (RM22.9 trillion.) in 2007, out of which exports were worth US$3.2 trillion (RM11.8 trillion) and imports US$3 trillion (RM11.1 trillion).Malaysia exported US$28 billion (RM103.6 billion) and imported US$27 billion (RM99.9 billion), making it the 29th largest exporter in the world, or less than 1 per cent of global services.