M'sia-India trade to hit US$10bil by year-end

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia-India bilateral trade is projected to hit US$10 billion by year-end, a senior official of the Indian High Commission said here today.

Aseem Mahajan, the Trade Counsellor at the commission, said between January and August this year, two-way trade rose by 36.3 per cent to US$8.351 billion vis-a-vis the same period last year.

He said the India-Malaysia Trade Agreement namely the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (IMCECA), which came into force on July 1, has benefited trade between Malaysia and India.

"(Bilateral) Trade is in Malaysia's favour, with electrical and electronics goods as the main exports from Malaysia," he said at the press conference on Intexpo, an exhibition of Indian textiles.

"India is focusing on its "Look East" policy and deepening with the Asean region," Mahajan said.

Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council of India (SRTEPC) chairman Vinod Kumar Ladia said India is keen to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with Malaysia and other Asean countries especially in textiles.

The INTEXPO event, to be held from Nov 22 to 24 at the Matrade Exhibition and Convention Centre, will be an ideal platform to promote India's textiles with 80 of India's leading textile companies exhibiting their products, he said.

"INTEXPO 2011 is expected to attract US$100 million of export business over the three-day event," Ladia said.

RD Udeshi, president of India's largest private sector enterprise Reliance Industries Limited, said India has also invested in Malaysia's textile industry.

"Reliance's textile manufacturing facilities in Nilai and Melaka took Reliance's share of the global polyester market to over seven per cent," Udeshi said. - BERNAMA