MANILA : The International Trade and Industry Ministry
(MITI) has recommended the establishment of a five-year blueprint to encourage
the growing trade relationship between Malaysia and the Philippines.
This will complement existing initiatives to as well as
provide concrete benchmarks for measuring the growth in economic and business
activities in the Philippines, said International Trade and Industry Minister
Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
“The Philippines is a country with a large population and
strong trade growth. With more developments on the horizon with Malaysian
partners, we foresee more opportunities for exports of Malaysian goods and
services in the coming years,” he said during a meeting between the
representatives of the Malaysia-Philippines Business Council (MPBC) and the
Philippines-Malaysia Business Council (PMBC) in Manila today.
Among the representatives for the MPBC during the meeting
include Matrade, the Halal Development Corp, AlloyMtd Group, Asian Institute of
Management, and Muhibbah Engineering Bhd.
AlloyMtd’s president and CEO Tan Sri Dr Azmil Khalid added
that Malaysian corporations should tap into new business prospects in the
Philippines as the country is undergoing a rapid growth transformation.
Azmil, who is also MPBC chairman, said that AlloyMtd’s
business ventures in the country have been mutually beneficial for both parties
and have created thousands of jobs over the last ten years.
Alloy Mtd started its operations in the Philippines back in
2006 and is primarily involved in infrastructure, institutional facilities and
property development.