19 May 2013 — A major Malaysian manufacturers' chamber will visit the Philippines on May 20 to 23 to explore potential business tie-ups with Filipino counterparts.

The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM), headed by its International Business Division Executive, Leong Soke Ching, and accounting firm AdrianYeo Managing Partner, Mr. Adrian Yeo Eng Hui, will led some 10 Malaysian businesses involved in logistics, industry, automotive, medicine and other businesses to interface with Philippine government and business leaders, network with counterparts and explore business opportunities with local companies.

"The Philippine Embassy is elated that more and more Malaysian companies are looking at the Philippines as a preferred place to invest and do business. The FMM mission is a good barometer of the robust partnerships emerging between Philippine and Malaysian business communities," Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia J. Eduardo Malaya said.

This mission is an offshoot of a Business Networking Forum, with focus on Mindanao, conducted by the Embassy and the Mindanao Development Authority in November 2012, which was attended by a delegation from the FMM.

The delegation's program will include business matching meetings, a visit to the Light Industry and Science Park in Laguna province, meetings with Trade and Industry Undersecretary Ponciano Manalo and officials of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, as well as with the officers and members of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and relevant trade organizations.

The Malaysian delegation is composed of officers of the Continental Top Products and Engineering Sdn Bhd, Dpstar Thermo Control Electric Sdn Bhd, Mega Fortis Trading Sdn Bhd, Soon Soon Manufacturing and Trading Sdn Bhd, Sri Kota Rubber Mfg. Sdn Bhd, Tech-Lab Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, Tuck Sun and Co. Sdn Bhd, and the accounting firm AdrianYeo.

This is the third Malaysian business mission to go to Philippines this year. Earlier, the Putrajaya Chamber of Commerce and the Tan Chong Group separately visited Mindanao on business missions.

The FMM is Malaysia's premier economic organization, and has consistently led Malaysian manufacturers in spearheading the nation's growth and modernization.

It represents over 2,500 manufacturing and industrial service companies of varying sizes, and is the officially recognized and acknowledged voice of the manufacturing industry in Malaysia.

In addition, 14 Malaysian companies, including major retailer Sogo KL, are in the Philippines attending the ongoing International Food Exhibition (IFEX) in Pasay City's SMX Convention Center.

The IFEX, the largest food exhibition in the Philippines, is managed by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) of the Department of Trade and Industry. The exhibition runs from May 16 to 19.

As of December 2012, Malaysia was the Philippines' ninth largest trading partner, with total trade amounting to US$364 million; it is the country's ninth largest export market, valued at US$136.14 million; and the ninth largest import market valued at US$227.87 million.

Malaysia's investment numbers to the Philippines is also increasing, pegged at US$31.31 million from January to September 2012. END