AT a time when everyone is tying their shoe strings as tightly as possible to tide over an array of financial hardship, it is heart-warming to know that some business partners are not stinging away from their spending.
Such is the Italian commitment to Malaysia as the former’s trading and investment partner.
The country’s ambassador Cristiano Maggipinto said despite the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral trade between Italy and Malaysia in the first seven months of 2020 remained at similar levels to 2019.
Italian companies currently operating in Malaysia are found in a wide range of sectors including oil and gas, defence and aerospace, construction, automotive, and chemicals.
On a broader picture, Maggipinto stressed that Italy has pursued a strategy with the aim of strengthening relations with Asean as demonstrated by the fact that Italy’s candidacy as Development Partner of Asean was unanimously approved at the 53rd Session of the Asean Ministers of Foreign Affairs Summit.
“This important outcome institutionalises political, economic and social ties grown over time which give us a prominent role in Southeast Asia,” Maggipinto pointed out.
“In this framework, Italy has given new depth to the relations with Malaysia which represents one of the most relevant actors in the area and offers a number of benefits not easily found in the region.”
Maggipinto was engaged in a webinar hosted by CIMB ASEAN Research Institute (CARI) in partnership with ASEAN Business Club that focuses on Italian Industry Expertise in Malaysia.
In an interview with Bernama on Dec 3, Maggipinto said Italian data showed that from January to August last year, Italy-Malaysia trade volume had only decreased by 7.6% compared to an average decrease of 13.1% in trade volume with other Asean countries.
In 2019, Italy-Malaysia bilateral trade volume reached 2.4 bil euro (RM11.84 bil).
He said Italy and Malaysia’s two-way trade has been growing significantly whereby for the period of 2015 to 2019, the two-way trade volume had increased by 33%.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) CEO Datuk Azman Mahmud stressed that Malaysia continues to be a competitive investment destination despite the global uncertainties with US$26.4 bil worth of approved investments in the overall economy in the first nine months of 2020.
In fact, investments approved in the manufacturing sector for the period of January to September 2020 saw an increase of 16.6% in capital investments compared to the corresponding period in 2019 which saw an increase of only 3.2%.
“The Malaysian government is currently undertaking additional initiatives to drive further foreign investments such as easing operating of businesses through digitalising selected government services, providing tax incentives for the pharmaceutical and services sectors, and implementation of a one-stop centre (OSC) to facilitate the entry of business travellers into the country,” he added. – Jan 27, 2021
