Malaysian PM Najib Razak (centre) chairs NEC's first meeting in 2016 (Source: bernama.com)Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The Malaysian National Export Council (NEC) agreed six strategies to drive exports, focusing on the adoption of e-commerce by small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The agreement was adopted during the first meeting of NEC in 2016 chaired by the country’s Prime Minister Najib Razak on February 25.
According to the Malaysian PM, the first strategy will include the introduction of the eTRADE programme by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE).
The eTRADE programme will enable SMEs to market their products globally through platforms such as Alibaba.com, eBay, Amazon.com, TradeIndia, TMall.com and JD.com, helping SMEs' contribution to the country’s exports rise to 23 percent, from the current 19 percent.
The second strategy involves MATRADE spurring more mid-tier companies to become regional and gobal export champions. This would create more Malaysian multi-national companies.
Malaysia’s brand promotion will be the third strategy. While in the fourth one, MATRADE will diversify export markets to include China's tier-2 and tier-3 cities, greenfield markets in ASEAN, Trans-Pacific Partnership member countries, Africa and the Middle East. This move would expand export opportunities for Malaysian companies, especially SMEs.
The fifth strategic plan is to raise production as well as exports of agricultural products through a focus on permanent food production areas and integrated aquaculture zones, aiming to achieve a better trade balance for agro-food products.
The last strategy will focus on boosting domestic tourism as a way of stemming money outflows and spurring domestic economic activities.
Exports play an important role in Malaysia’s economy, contributing to about 67.4 percent of the Gross Domestic Products (GDP).
Malaysia's exports last year grew 1.9 percent over the preceding year to 780 billion MYR (185.5 billion USD).-VNA
