Indian companies should set up regional locations here: Malaysia

Singapore, Sep 23 (UNI) A Malaysian minister has urged Indian companies to locate their regional establishments in Malaysia especially ahead of the impending implementation of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement.

International Trade and Industry Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said his country provided the best gateway to the combined ASEAN market of more than 560 million consumers and combined Gross Domestic Product of more than one trillion US dollars.

Addressing the launch of Malaysia-India CEO Forum 2008 in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Muhyiddin remained optimistic about the implementation of the ASEAN-India agreement early next year, which will enhance trade between India and the Southeast Asian markets.

Malaysia and India have also started negotiating since early this year, a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.

The trade between both the countries is expected to touch 10 billion US dollars by the year-end, compared to 7.88 billion US dollars last year. It was 5.33 billion US dollars between January-June this year.

India is the main market for the Malaysian construction companies, which have completed 58 projects worth 2.6 billion US dollars between 1998 and August 2008, he pointed out.

Muhyiddin noted that Indian companies have also made inroads into the information communication technology sector in Malaysia, many of which are located in the Multimedia Super Corridor that depends on skilled human capital from India.

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