Malaysian plastics industry remains resilient with steady growth — MIDA

The Malaysian plastics industry exhibited resilience during the pandemic and has continued on a steady growth path.

马来西亚塑料行业在大流行期间表现出韧性，并继续稳步增长。

The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) said as of June 2022, 33 projects in the sector had been approved with accumulated investments of RM503.5 million.

马来西亚投资发展局（MIDA）表示，截至 2022 年 6 月，该行业已批准 33 个项目，累计投资额为 5.035 亿令吉。

Chief executive officer Datuk Arham Abdul Rahman said as the plastics industry continues to grow, it is important that companies, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), focus on innovation and raise productivity to compete and capture new opportunities.

首席执行官 Datuk Arham Abdul Rahman 表示，随着塑料行业的持续增长，公司，尤其是中小型企业 (SME)，必须专注于创新和提高生产力，以参与竞争并抓住新机遇。

“MIDA has proactively taken the initiative to ensure investors have access to the right infrastructure, proper facilities and skilled talent to cater to the requirements of businesses,” he said in his keynote address at a conference on government assistance at MIDA’s headquarters on 23rd November.

“MIDA 已积极采取行动，确保投资者能够获得合适的基础设施、适当的设施和技术人才，以满足企业的需求，”他11月23日在 MIDA 总部举行的政府援助会议上的主题演讲中说。

The conference, specifically for the plastics industry and attended by 100 participants, was co-organised with the Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA) and aimed to provide insight into various government policies, facilitations, and assistance.、

该会议是与马来西亚塑料制造商协会 (MPMA) 联合举办的，专门针对塑料行业，有 100 名与会者参加，旨在深入了解各种政府政策、便利和援助。

Arham noted that among the initiatives and assistance provided by MIDA to manufacturers of plastics products include the Smart Automation Grant Industry4WRD Intervention Fund, Automation Capital Allowance (ACA) and the Domestic Investment Coordination Platform (DICP).

Arham 指出，MIDA 向塑料产品制造商提供的举措和援助包括智能自动化补助 Industry4WRD 干预基金、自动化资本津贴 (ACA) 和国内投资协调平台 (DICP)。

“Malaysia is also committed to achieving net zero carbon by 2050 and for this, MIDA is working closely with MPMA to drive industry collaboration and understand the demand and supply of recycled plastics resources.

“马来西亚还致力于到 2050 年实现净零碳排放，为此，MIDA 正与 MPMA 密切合作，以推动行业合作并了解再生塑料资源的需求和供应。

“Companies should look for practical ways to recover resources where possible and channel them back into production,” he said.

“公司应该寻找切实可行的方法，尽可能回收资源并将其重新投入生产，”他说。

MPMA vice-president Datuk Noraini Soltan highlighted that the plastics industry continues to face tremendous challenges including a shortage of labour, an increase in cost arising from the increase in minimum wages and rising interest rates as well as a slump in overseas demand due to economic slowdown.

MPMA副总裁Datuk Noraini Soltan 强调，塑料行业继续面临巨大挑战，包括劳动力短缺、最低工资上涨和利率上升导致成本增加，以及经济放缓导致海外需求下滑.

Moving forward, she said it is unavoidable for plastics manufacturers to shift towards high technology to reduce dependency on foreign workers and low skilled labour.

展望未来，她说塑料制造商不可避免地转向高科技，以减少对外国工人和低技能劳动力的依赖。

“The ability of the plastics industry to produce high quality products at competitive prices will strengthen our role as a supporting industry, and in turn attract more foreign direct investments.

“塑料行业以具有竞争力的价格生产高质量产品的能力，将加强我们作为辅助产业的作用，进而吸引更多的外国直接投资。

“As investing in high technology and automation is a long-term process and given the fact that 90% of plastics companies are SMEs, continued assistance and support from the government in the form of grants, incentives and financing is crucial.

“由于对高科技和自动化的投资是一个长期过程，而且鉴于 90% 的塑料公司都是中小企业，政府以赠款、激励和融资的形式提供持续的援助和支持至关重要。

“This will enable more plastics companies to have sufficient resources to invest in advanced machinery and new product development for sustainable growth,” said Noraini.

“这将使更多的塑料公司有足够的资源来投资先进的机械和新产品开发，以实现可持续增长，”Noraini 说。

The MIDA-MPMA conference featured speakers from MIDA, Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia, Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd (MIDF), Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), United Overseas Bank Ltd and TalentCorp Malaysia.

MIDA-MPMA 会议的发言人来自 MIDA、马来西亚内陆税收局、马来西亚工业发展金融有限公司 (MIDF)、马来西亚对外贸易发展局 (MATRADE)、科学、技术与创新部 (MOSTI)、大华银行有限公司和TalentCorp Malaysia。

On the conference, Noraini said the industry was very fortunate to have been able to learn from knowledgeable speakers on the various types of government assistance and facilitations.

在会议上，Noraini 表示，该行业非常幸运能够从知识渊博的演讲者那里学习各种类型的政府援助和便利。

“We hope that the participants would have obtained useful information which will assist employers to formulate strategies to make changes to your business models, and operations and move up the value chains via this conference,” she added.

她补充说：“我们希望与会者获得有用的信息，帮助雇主制定战略，改变你的商业模式和运营，并通过这次会议提升企业的价值链。