- By Hanis Sayuti
- Published 15 May 2008
- General
- Unrated
By: Nuruljannah Kamaruddin
Source: Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 (Bernama) -- Pikom, the Association of the Computer & Multimedia Industry of Malaysia, believes the country's information & communication technology (ICT) exports will surpass imports by 2012.
Chairman David Wong Nan Fay said today that a brief survey by Pikom involving 175 ICT companies in Malaysia also indicated anticipation of good growth for the export sector, with 54 percent of the respondents saying they will increase their export business by 10 percent this year.
"In 2007, MSC Malaysia-status companies' exports stood at US$1.5 billion," (US$1=RM3.20) Wong said, adding that better performance can be achieved by equipping the industry with the right infrastructure to compete globally.
Wong said that apart from increasing research & development (R&D) activities, the government should also continue to provide funding assistance for branding, especially for small & medium enterprises (SMEs) that are venturing abroad.
"To go global, the challenge is to do the branding. I think there room for more and we also have requested the Ministry of International Trade & Industry (MITI) to increase the funding of loans and venture capital for the SMEs because a lot of them are in the growth stage," he told Bernama in an interview.
Currently, 90 percent of the ICT players are SMEs and therefore a major contributor to the local ICT industry, he said, adding that most of them are involved in retail, software development and services.
"The growth fund needed is between RM5 million and RM10 million and that is one big lack. So we would like to see how more funds can be obtained for loans or investments," he added.
Wong said that to go globally, overseas offices are needed in countries with potential such as the U.S., China, Singapore and the Middle East to follow up on industry trends and prospects.
"The U.S. is a buyer's market. A lot of foreign direct investments (FDIs) can come from the U.S., especially in the area of outsourcing," he said, adding that Malaysia's good relations with the Middle East should be leveraged on to increase the potential for trade.
"As we know, Singapore houses the regional headquarters of many companies and a lot of decision makers are based there. Singapore is one way for us to access the potential buyers," Wong said.
"As China is one of the economic giants in the world, we should not miss any opportunities in any form of collaborations with China whether as a supplier or buyer. We can go both ways.
"It is something possible. I would like to see how we can do that. Not to do that alone but rather jointly, for example, with the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC).
"We are open to the idea of jointly setting up facilities."
Wong He said huge opportunities await the local players in China and the Middle East as there are a lot of activities in ICT there.
"In fact, Malaysia is China's largest trading partner in Asia and we expect ICT to be among those contributing significantly to the country's revenues," he added.
Source: Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 (Bernama) -- Pikom, the Association of the Computer & Multimedia Industry of Malaysia, believes the country's information & communication technology (ICT) exports will surpass imports by 2012.
Chairman David Wong Nan Fay said today that a brief survey by Pikom involving 175 ICT companies in Malaysia also indicated anticipation of good growth for the export sector, with 54 percent of the respondents saying they will increase their export business by 10 percent this year.
"In 2007, MSC Malaysia-status companies' exports stood at US$1.5 billion," (US$1=RM3.20) Wong said, adding that better performance can be achieved by equipping the industry with the right infrastructure to compete globally.
Wong said that apart from increasing research & development (R&D) activities, the government should also continue to provide funding assistance for branding, especially for small & medium enterprises (SMEs) that are venturing abroad.
"To go global, the challenge is to do the branding. I think there room for more and we also have requested the Ministry of International Trade & Industry (MITI) to increase the funding of loans and venture capital for the SMEs because a lot of them are in the growth stage," he told Bernama in an interview.
Currently, 90 percent of the ICT players are SMEs and therefore a major contributor to the local ICT industry, he said, adding that most of them are involved in retail, software development and services.
"The growth fund needed is between RM5 million and RM10 million and that is one big lack. So we would like to see how more funds can be obtained for loans or investments," he added.
Wong said that to go globally, overseas offices are needed in countries with potential such as the U.S., China, Singapore and the Middle East to follow up on industry trends and prospects.
"The U.S. is a buyer's market. A lot of foreign direct investments (FDIs) can come from the U.S., especially in the area of outsourcing," he said, adding that Malaysia's good relations with the Middle East should be leveraged on to increase the potential for trade.
"As we know, Singapore houses the regional headquarters of many companies and a lot of decision makers are based there. Singapore is one way for us to access the potential buyers," Wong said.
"As China is one of the economic giants in the world, we should not miss any opportunities in any form of collaborations with China whether as a supplier or buyer. We can go both ways.
"It is something possible. I would like to see how we can do that. Not to do that alone but rather jointly, for example, with the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC).
"We are open to the idea of jointly setting up facilities."
Wong He said huge opportunities await the local players in China and the Middle East as there are a lot of activities in ICT there.
"In fact, Malaysia is China's largest trading partner in Asia and we expect ICT to be among those contributing significantly to the country's revenues," he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment