Making Malaysia great in trade

MATRADE CEO Datuk Mohd Mustafa Abdul Aziz writes about lessons learned in 2022 to advance Malaysia in international trade 

MATRADE首席执行官Datuk Mohd Mustafa Abdul Aziz撰写了2022年推动马来西亚国际贸易的经验教训

Time passes by so fast that it almost feels like a year has passed in a blink of an eye and we are just days away from the new year. Looking back, the year 2022 was truly an outstanding milestone for Malaysia's trade. As Malaysia’s trade promotion organisation, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) is proud of the country’s achievement in international trade, and with a comprehensive understanding of how Malaysia’s trade has transformed through time, we will continue progressing the nation’s economic resiliency.

时间过得如此之快，几乎感觉一年一眨眼就过去了，我们离新年只有几天了。回顾过去，2022年确实是马来西亚贸易的一个杰出里程碑。作为马来西亚的贸易促进组织，马来西亚对外贸易发展局（MATRADE）为该国在国际贸易方面的成就感到自豪，并且全面了解马来西亚的贸易如何随着时间的推移而变化，我们将继续推进国家的经济弹性。

Our nation, a trading nation

我们的国家，一个贸易国家

Malaysia has always been historically associated with international trade. Our potential as a trading nation has been evident since the era of the Malaccan Sultanate. After Malaya gained its independence in 1957, our international trade continued to flourish through exports, thanks to our enormous resources in the commodity sector, particularly tin and rubber. It was in the 1960s that the commodity sector was acknowledged as the foundation of the economy, enabling Malaysia to progress economically and better realise the goals of the National Economic Policy, which had been put in place in the early 1970s.

马来西亚在历史上一直与国际贸易联系在一起。自马拉加苏丹国时代以来，我们作为一个贸易国家的潜力就显而易见。马来亚于1957年获得独立后，由于我们在商品部门，特别是锡和橡胶方面拥有大量资源，我们的国际贸易通过出口继续蓬勃发展。正是在1960年代，初级商品部门被确认为经济的基础，使马来西亚能够在经济上取得进步，更好地实现1970年代初制定的国家经济政策的目标。

We cultivated the capabilities of our local Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through the transfer of knowledge and technology as we welcomed more foreign direct investments since the early 1970s, particularly in the Electrical & Electronic (E&E) sector, strengthening the already burgeoning entrepreneurial culture among Malaysians.

自1970年代初以来，我们欢迎更多的外国直接投资，特别是在电气和电子（E&E）领域，通过知识和技术转让培养本地微型，中小型企业（MSMEs）的能力，加强了马来西亚人已经蓬勃发展的创业文化。

Undoubtedly, this spurred a major impetus for our reputation as an economic tiger of ASEAN at the time being one of the founding members of the regional grouping.

毫无疑问，这极大地推动了我们作为东盟经济之虎的声誉，当时我们是东盟的创始成员之一。

MATRADE was founded to capitalise on the surge in global trade and was established in March 1993 to assume responsibility as the national trade promotion agency in promoting Malaysian products and services into the international market. MATRADE’s origin actually stemmed from the Malaysian Export Trade Centre or MEXPO - an International Trade Division of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), with a permanent exhibition centre located at the PKNS building in Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur in the mid 80’s. The creation of a trade promotion organisation similar to JETRO in Japan is urgently needed given the high demand in introducing our ‘Made in Malaysia’ brands into the global markets.

马来西亚对外贸易发展局（MATRADE）成立于1993年3月，旨在利用全球贸易的激增，作为国家贸易促进机构负责将马来西亚产品和服务推广到国际市场。MATRADE的起源实际上源于马来西亚出口贸易中心或MEXPO - 国际贸易和工业部（MITI）的国际贸易部门，在80年代中期位于吉隆坡Jalan Raja Laut的PKNS大楼内设有常设展览中心。鉴于将我们的“马来西亚制造”品牌引入全球市场的高需求，迫切需要在日本建立一个类似于JETRO的贸易促进组织。

Throughout the 1990s, Malaysia’s export grew steadily and became one of the major global exporters of E&E components as well as other manufactured goods such as value-added products of rubber, timber, palm oil and chemicals.

在整个1990年代，马来西亚的出口稳步增长，并成为电子电气部件以及其他制成品（如橡胶，木材，棕榈油和化学品等增值产品）的全球主要出口国之一。

Creating homegrown export champions

打造本土出口龙头企业

In the current context, considering various political and geopolitical situations including market conditions and of course, the pandemic, Malaysia is among the world’s top-25 trading nations and ranked in the top-5 for ASEAN countries. As other developing countries become more competitive and Malaysia is no longer seen as a manufacturing hub with inexpensive labour, Malaysia’s trade ranking has undoubtedly declined compared to 20 years ago. Despite this, we have made great strides in our capabilities, making history in 2021 when Malaysia’s trade reached the RM2 trillion mark for the first time, barely a year after the COVID-19 epidemic.

在当前背景下，考虑到各种政治和地缘政治局势，包括市场状况，当然还有大流行，马来西亚是世界前25大贸易国之一，在东盟国家中排名前五。随着其他发展中国家变得更具竞争力，马来西亚不再被视为劳动力廉价的制造业中心，马来西亚的贸易排名无疑与20年前相比有所下降。尽管如此，我们在能力方面取得了长足的进步，在 2021 年创造了历史，当时马来西亚的贸易额首次达到 2 万亿令吉大关，距离 COVID-19 流行仅一年。

This year, according to the latest figure published by the Department of Statistics of Malaysia, for the period of January to November 2022, Malaysia’s trade has expanded by close to 30% to RM2.613 trillion. Within this period, exports increased by 27.2% to reach RM1.42 trillion while imports rose by 33.3% to RM1.193 trillion. Trade surplus edged up by 2.6% to RM227.89 billion.

今年，根据马来西亚统计局公布的最新数据，2022年1月至11月期间，马来西亚的贸易额增长了近30%，达到2.613万亿令吉。在此期间，出口增长了27.2%，达到1.42万亿令吉，而进口增长了33.3%，达到1.193万亿令吉。贸易顺差小幅上升2.6%至2,278.9亿令吉。

However, this is not a reason to rest on our laurels. We must continue our concerted efforts to ensure Malaysian MSMEs remain a part of the global supply chain and be prepared for any adverse changes in global economic conditions. MATRADE is placing a strong emphasis on high-value industries, developing access into new and emerging markets and creating partnerships that are in line with MATRADE’s key pillars - digitalisation, adopting values of sustainability and to be guided by the National Trade Blueprint (NTBp). We should be proud that we have strengths in high-value industries like E&E, Machinery & Equipment, Aerospace, Halal, Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare, Construction, Chemicals, and Energy, to name a few, for a country with only 33 million people.

然而，这并不是固步自封的理由。我们必须继续努力，确保马来西亚中小微企业仍然是全球供应链的一部分，并为全球经济状况的任何不利变化做好准备。MATRADE非常重视高价值产业，开发进入新兴市场的机会，并建立符合MATRADE关键支柱的合作伙伴关系 - 数字化，采用可持续发展的价值观，并以国家贸易蓝图（NTBp）为指导。我们应该感到自豪的是，对于一个只有3300万人口的国家来说，我们在电子电气，机械和设备，航空航天，清真，医疗设备，制药，医疗保健，建筑，化学和能源等高价值行业拥有优势。

As I mentioned earlier, foreign investments in Malaysia played a significant role in the growth of Malaysia's trade over the last few decades. This is still very much the case, but it is also important to highlight that our own MSMEs contributed 37.4% of Malaysia’s GDP and 11.7% to overall Malaysia’s exports for 2021. Nonetheless, we still need to pursue the goal of a 25% contribution by MSMEs to the nation’s export by 2025 as set under the 12th Malaysia Plan and the National Entrepreneurship Policy (DKN).

正如我之前提到的，过去几十年，马来西亚的外国投资在马来西亚贸易增长中发挥了重要作用。情况仍然如此，但同样重要的是要强调，我们自己的中小微企业在 2021 年贡献了马来西亚 GDP 的 37.4% 和马来西亚整体出口的 11.7%。尽管如此，我们仍然需要追求到2025年中小微企业对国家出口贡献25%的目标，这是第12个马来西亚计划和国家创业政策（DKN）设定的。

Along with the advancement of technology, cross-border e-Commerce opportunities are also growing. Hence, it is vital for Malaysian MSMEs to adopt digitalisation to be more competitive globally. In 2021, Gross Value Added of eCommerce amounted to RM201.1 billion, an increase of RM37.2 billion in 2021 with a growth of 22.7%.

随着技术的进步，跨境电子商务的机会也在增长。因此，马来西亚中小微企业采用数字化以在全球范围内更具竞争力至关重要。2021年，电子商务的总增加值达2,011亿令吉，2021年增长372亿令吉，增长22.7%。

In the same vein, we must also recognise our Mid-Tier Companies (MTCs) significant efforts in contributing 30% of the GDP and 22% of our Malaysian workforce. Despite making up only 1% of businesses in Malaysia, MTCs play an important role in developing a competitive domestic supply chain, where 75% or more than 7,000 SMEs are involved in the MTCs export supply chain.

同样，我们还必须认识到我们的中型公司（MTC）在贡献30%的GDP和22%的马来西亚劳动力方面所做的重大努力。尽管MTC仅占马来西亚企业的1%，但在发展具有竞争力的国内供应链方面发挥着重要作用，其中75%或超过7,000家中小企业参与了MTCs出口供应链。

These achievements are testament to the success of MATRADE’s programmes in both capacity-building and trade promotion. These capacity-building initiatives generate a pool of exporters that are later promoted into the international markets through various export promotion programmes abroad led by MATRADE’s network of 46 trade offices around the world.

这些成就证明了MATRADE方案在能力建设和贸易促进方面的成功。这些能力建设举措产生了一批出口商，这些出口商随后通过由MATRADE在全球46个贸易办事处组成的网络领导的各种国外出口促进方案进入国际市场。

In the first 11 months of 2022, MATRADE has facilitated 2,266 companies through its Market Development Grant; 486 companies through the eTRADE 2.0 programme; trained 7,999 individuals through its exporters training programmes; assisted 2,681 companies to access into the global markets through various export promotion activities implemented namely participation in trade fairs, international sourcing programmes, eBizMatch as well as eBizLink programmes. MATRADE also produced countless market intelligence reports gathered from its global networks. These reports can be accessed by myExport registered users.

在 2022 年前 11 个月，MATRADE 通过其市场开发补助金为 2,266 家公司提供了便利;486家公司通过eTRADE 2.0计划; 通过其出口商培训计划培训了7,999人;通过实施的各种出口促进活动，即参加交易会，国际采购计划，eBizMatch以及eBizLink计划，协助2,681家公司进入全球市场。MATRADE还制作了从其全球网络收集的无数市场情报报告。这些报告可由 myExport 注册用户访问。

World-renowned trade promotion organisation

世界知名贸易促进机构

As a testament to the success in pivoting the impact of the pandemic, the 17th edition of MATRADE’s flagship annual event – the Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) in 2021 had earned its first World Trade Promotion Organisation (WTPO) Award under the “Best Use of Information Technology” category, for MATRADE’s innovative approach in organising a fully virtual showcase. MIHAS 2021 was also recognised at the Malaysia Public Relations Awards (MPRA) 2021, clinching the Gold Award in the Best “Pandemic Pivot” or “COVID-19 Communications” campaign category adding another feather to the cap.

作为成功扭转疫情影响的证明，MATRADE 第 17 届旗舰年度活动——2021 年马来西亚国际清真展 （MIHAS） 因其在组织完全虚拟展示方面的创新方法，获得了“最佳信息技术使用”类别下的第一个世界贸易组织 （WTPO） 奖。MIHAS 2021 也在 2021 年马来西亚公共关系奖 （MPRA） 中得到认可，在最佳“大流行支点”或“COVID-19 传播”活动类别中获得了金奖，为该奖项锦上添花。

The 18th edition of MIHAS in 2022 once again delivered a record-breaking showcase, generating a total of RM2.36 billion in sales, surpassing its original target of RM1.9 billion. It was organised in a hybrid approach, following the reopening of borders whilst adhering to the COVID-19 safety measures.

2022年第18届MIHAS再次创下纪录，总销售额达23.6亿令吉，超过了其19亿令吉的原定目标。它是在重新开放边境后以混合方式组织的，同时遵守 COVID-19 安全措施。

Through MIHAS, MATRADE continues to fortify Malaysia as the heart of the global Halal hub. In this regard, businesses must realise the vast opportunities available in the international halal market and strive to capitalise on them. MATRADE is ready to assist Malaysian exporters to tap into the opportunities of the global Islamic economy, which is estimated to reach USD2.8 trillion by 2025.

通过MIHAS，MATRADE继续巩固马来西亚作为全球清真中心的地位。在这方面，企业必须意识到国际清真市场的巨大机遇，并努力利用这些机会。MATRADE已准备好协助马来西亚出口商利用全球伊斯兰经济的机遇，预计到2025年将达到2.8万亿美元。

The upcoming edition - MIHAS 2023 - will be held from 12 to 15 September 2023 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC), Kuala Lumpur. Close to 400 booths have already been reserved by this year’s exhibitors, which reflects MIHAS’ positive rapport as a trade event.

即将举行的MIHAS 2023将于2023年9月12日至15日在吉隆坡马来西亚国际贸易展览中心（MITEC）举行。今年的参展商已经预订了近400个展位，这反映了MIHAS作为贸易活动的积极关系。

Future-proofing Malaysia’s trade

面向未来的马来西亚贸易

The requirement to compete in international markets has changed significantly over the past few years. Buyers no longer base their decisions on price solely. Policymakers, numerous stakeholders, and consumers now have different expectations and are more concerned about the significance of adopting sustainability measures. Our exporters must invest in developing sustainable export strategies that promote and adopt ESG principles in their production process and global supply chains to meet changing market requirements.

在过去几年中，在国际市场上竞争的要求发生了重大变化。买家不再仅仅根据价格做出决定。政策制定者、众多利益相关者和消费者现在有不同的期望，更关心采取可持续性措施的重要性。我们的出口商必须投资制定可持续的出口战略，在其生产过程和全球供应链中推广和采用ESG原则，以满足不断变化的市场需求。

Therefore, it is imperative that MSMEs development programmes are catered to help MSMEs become globally competitive. Business governance and operations including community care must be centred on socioeconomic trends. Our MSMEs need the relevant certifications, standards, labelling and global endorsement in order to compete on a global scale and in high-value markets. To do this, we must keep up our effective facilitation while pragmatically modifying some programmes to fully realised our global potential in the current economic climate.

因此，必须满足中小微企业的发展计划，以帮助中小微企业具有全球竞争力。包括社区护理在内的企业治理和运营必须以社会经济趋势为中心。我们的中小微企业需要相关的认证、标准、标签和全球认可，以便在全球范围内和高价值市场上竞争。为此，我们必须保持有效的促进，同时务实地修改一些方案，以便在当前的经济环境下充分发挥我们的全球潜力。

Our MSMEs must be prepared for the digital age, which goes beyond simply having websites and includes exposing them to cutting-edge technology like the metaverse. Another key area is eCommerce marketing, which is fast becoming a necessity for companies to remain relevant. At MATRADE, we have long introduced a programme called the eTrade Programme (now eTrade 2.0) to expedite the learning and adoption of eCommerce marketing as a tool to export among our MSMEs.

我们的中小微企业必须为数字时代做好准备，这不仅仅是拥有网站，还包括让他们接触元宇宙等尖端技术。另一个关键领域是电子商务营销，这正迅速成为公司保持相关性的必要条件。在MATRADE，我们长期以来一直推出一项名为eTrade计划（现为eTrade 2.0）的计划，以加快学习和采用电子商务营销作为中小微企业出口的工具。

We must develop new capabilities in order to further diversify our strengths. With regard to international trade, MATRADE urges all relevant parties to work with us to develop new areas of strength such as the services sector and environmentally friendly and highly innovative sectors. Currently, MATRADE has forged high-value partnerships with industry players across various segments namely, Google, DHL Express, CIMB, MGTC, SIRIM and Bank Islam, among many others.

我们必须发展新的能力，以便进一步分散我们的优势。在国际贸易方面，MATRADE敦促所有相关方与我们合作，发展新的优势领域，如服务业以及环保和高度创新的部门。目前，MATRADE已经与谷歌，DHL Express，CIMB，MGTC，SIRIM和Bank Islam等各个领域的行业参与者建立了高价值的合作伙伴关系。

As a way to acknowledge the contributions of Trade Associations and their crucial responsibilities as a conduit for information between the public and private sectors, MATRADE launched the Empower Trade Association Programme (ETA) this year. Trade associations actually have played a major role in encouraging exports among their members. In addition to exploring new markets, we offered support and incentives through the ETA for the promotion of high-tech, high-value and sustainable industries to help more Malaysian businesses access the global value chain. We believe the ETA will also expand bilateral or regional ties between Malaysia and our partner nations and will build extensive networks between Trade Associations in Malaysia and its counterparts overseas.

为了表彰行业协会的贡献及其作为公共和私营部门之间信息渠道的关键责任，MATRADE 今年启动了赋权贸易协会计划 （ETA）。实际上，贸易协会在鼓励其成员出口方面发挥了重要作用。除了开拓新市场外，我们还通过ETA提供支持和激励措施，以促进高科技，高价值和可持续发展的产业，以帮助更多的马来西亚企业进入全球价值链。我们相信ETA还将扩大马来西亚与我们的伙伴国家之间的双边或区域联系，并将在马来西亚的贸易协会与海外同行之间建立广泛的网络。

As Malaysia endeavours to strengthen existing partnerships and forge new ones with nations in the region, our nation’s commitment to free trade and open economies will bolster Malaysia's capabilities to compete in the international market and ensure economic prosperity for years to come.

随着马来西亚努力加强与该地区各国的现有伙伴关系并建立新的伙伴关系，我国对自由贸易和开放经济的承诺将增强马来西亚在国际市场上竞争的能力，并确保未来几年的经济繁荣。

Pragmatic moves ahead

务实前进

Malaysian businesses have proven their agility and tenacity by adapting their production and export strategies in response to shifting market conditions. Malaysia has a number of advantages that have helped it rise to the top, most notably a robust manufacturing sector and a prime location between East and South-East Asia. The presence of Malaysian businesses in the global supply chain contributes to its stability and Malaysia can undoubtedly continue to solidify its position as a strong and reliable trading nation. Malaysia can benefit from opportunities brought about by greater globalisation and regional economic integration through Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) by utilising its strategic location.

马来西亚企业通过调整生产和出口战略以应对不断变化的市场条件，证明了他们的敏捷性和韧性。马来西亚拥有许多优势，帮助其跻身顶峰，最引人注目的是强劲的制造业和东亚和东南亚之间的黄金地段。马来西亚企业在全球供应链中的存在有助于其稳定，马来西亚无疑可以继续巩固其作为强大可靠的贸易国家的地位。马来西亚可以利用其战略位置，通过区域全面经济伙伴关系协定（RCEP）和跨太平洋伙伴关系全面进步协定（CPTPP），从更大的全球化和区域经济一体化带来的机遇中受益。

Additionally, globalisation has immense potential for Malaysia, offering wider access to markets, investment and resources to facilitate Malaysia’s economic growth. MATRADE will continue to take the lead in helping Malaysian companies to access international markets and capitalise on the benefits of globalisation.

此外，全球化对马来西亚具有巨大的潜力，为马来西亚的经济增长提供了更广泛的市场准入、投资和资源。MATRADE将继续带头帮助马来西亚公司进入国际市场，并利用全球化的好处。

As Malaysia continues to pursue greater international trade, there are many opportunities that can be leveraged over the next three to five years. Malaysia will see a surge in demand for its products and services, provided we address the readiness of our companies and be pragmatic in our market access approach. Malaysia’s move to position itself at the forefront of the digital economy, by leveraging its expertise in technology, communications infrastructure and local knowledge will be a key catalyst to the country’s export growth.

随着马来西亚继续追求更大的国际贸易，未来三到五年可以利用许多机会。马来西亚将看到对其产品和服务的需求激增，只要我们解决我们公司的准备情况，并在我们的市场准入方法上保持务实。马来西亚利用其在技术、通信基础设施和当地知识方面的专业知识，将自己定位在数字经济的最前沿，将成为该国出口增长的关键催化剂。

Most initiatives in Malaysia are focused on providing better access to resources such as finance, technology, skills and talent, and these efforts help to improve Malaysia's infrastructure and connectivity to the global economy. We must continue to strengthen our presence in international trade through the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other regional organisations as well as encourage the use of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) as an instrument to boost market access.

马来西亚的大多数举措都集中在提供更好的资金、技术、技能和人才等资源，这些努力有助于改善马来西亚的基础设施和与全球经济的联系。我们必须继续通过世界贸易组织（WTO）和其他区域组织加强我们在国际贸易中的存在，并鼓励利用自由贸易协定（FTA）作为促进市场准入的工具。

Malaysia must also be ready for changes in the nature of international trade, such as growing tariffs, protectionism and production costs. We must work concertedly to make sure that its trade laws are adaptable to these developments and that Malaysia is in a good position to take advantage of emerging opportunities in global trade, such as the digitalisation of processes, blockchain technology and eCommerce platforms.

马来西亚还必须为国际贸易性质的变化做好准备，例如不断增加的关税、保护主义和生产成本。我们必须齐心协力，确保其贸易法适应这些发展，并确保马来西亚能够充分利用全球贸易中的新兴机遇，例如流程数字化、区块链技术和电子商务平台。

Finally, our companies must continue to invest in their human capital and foster innovation through education and training. Investments in upskilling its workforce will help Malaysian companies remain competitive by developing innovative skills and technologies to strengthen its position in both the domestic and international markets. Malaysia must also keep its commitment to sustainable development, which is essential for the country's long-term development and success in the rapidly evolving global trade environment.

最后，我们的公司必须继续投资于人力资本，并通过教育和培训促进创新。对提高劳动力技能的投资将有助于马来西亚公司通过开发创新技能和技术来加强其在国内和国际市场的地位，从而保持竞争力。马来西亚还必须信守对可持续发展的承诺，这对于该国在迅速变化的全球贸易环境中的长期发展和成功至关重要。

I wish to reassure our Malaysian companies that MATRADE will continue to help them access the world markets while also facilitating them in adapting to and benefitting from new market opportunities and conditions. We are confident that our exporters will be the best bridge to articulate Malaysia’s value propositions that resonate with world demands. I am also sure, with all the strategies and tactical approaches in place, we can make Malaysia great in trade.

我想向马来西亚公司保证，MATRADE将继续帮助他们进入世界市场，同时帮助他们适应新的市场机会和条件并从中受益。我们相信，我们的出口商将成为阐明马来西亚与世界需求产生共鸣的价值主张的最佳桥梁。我也确信，有了所有的战略和战术方法，我们可以使马来西亚在贸易中变得伟大。