ASEAN COMMUNITY OF ENTREPRENEURS
COVER STORY
ABUNDANT OF OPPORTUNITIES
Malaysia
has
also
developed
a sophisticated Islamic finance
marketplace that has grown from
strength-to-strength over the past 30
years. Many foreign financial institutions
have made Malaysia their destination
of choice to conduct Islamic banking
businesses. Among the full
fledged
Islamic banks already prominent in
Malaysia from the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) countries are Al
-Rajhi
Bank, Kuwait Finance House and
Alkhair International Islamic Bank.
The range of Islamic financial
products continues to broaden to
meet the diverse needs of businesses
and markets. In addition, the ASEAN
region is abundant with the right mix of
flora and fauna that is essential for halal
ingredients. Malaysia being strategically
located in the heart of ASEAN enables
investors to easily source raw materials
for halal ingredients due to the
country’s well
e-stablished networks
with its neighbours.
Therefore, it is no surprise that
Malaysia is currently the world’s largest
producer of halal ingredients with a
value of RM12.2 billion (approximately
US$3.13
billion)
annually.
This
makes it easier for manufacturers to
produce halal products in Malaysia.
Furthermore, with the various ASEAN
Plus 1 free trade agreements (FTAs)
with China, Japan, South Korea, India,
Australia and New Zealand as well as
other potential FTAs, Malaysia should
be seen as a gateway to a wider market
whereby investors stand to benefit
preferential access for their products
and services.
As such, Malaysia has leveraged
upon these strategic value propositions
and industrial developments to build a
18
comprehensive
halal
ecosystem.
Malaysian halal products have now
carved a global niche and Malaysia’s
halal
certification
has
gained
recognition globally.
Based on the State of Global
Islamic
and
Economic
Report
2015/2016, Malaysia was ranked as
the best developed Islamic economy
out of 73 core countries. This includes
ranking first for halal food, Islamic
finance and halal travel as well as being
within the top five countries for halal
pharmaceuticals & cosmetics.
The value of the halal food
sector in the global halal market is
estimated a t US$693 billion annually.
As of December 2015, a total of
ASEAN COMMUNITY OF ENTREPRENEURS | ISSUE 2 : 2016
1,437 projects in food manufacturing
worth RM29.3 billion (US$7.53 billion)
have been implemented and these
have created more than 99,000
employments for Malaysians. In 2015,
MIDA has approved an additional
of 51 projects in this industry valued
at RM2.6 billion (US$668,118) with
more than 2,900 employment
opportunities. It is worthy to highlight
that majority of the approved and
implemented projects are involved in
the manufacturing of halal food.
Malaysian
halal
products
recorded RM42 billion (US$10.8
billion) worth of exports in 2015. The
key export destinations include China,
Singapore, the US, Indonesia and
Japan. The export value is targeted
to increase by 19% to RM50 billion in
2016. Foreign companies
have been leveraging on
our comprehensive halal
ecosystem that have
been built over the years.
Among the notable
companies that have
made Malaysia their
base for halal products
include CP (Charoen
Pokphand) Holdings,
Nestle,
Kerry
Ingredients,
PureCircle,