Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) is organising a ‘market immersion to India’ programme, which tries to spur mid-tier companies of Malaysia to look at the Indian market for trade and investment.

Statistics about SMEs in Malaysia —which are called‘mid-tier companies’, or MTCs— read just like those of India. There are about 10,000 MTCs, which account for just one per cent of all Malaysian firms; yet they contribute 30 per cent to the country’s GDP and employ 22 per cent of the workforce. However, very few of them have business links with India.

MATRADE, as part of its ‘mid-tier companies development programme’, will bring a few MTCs to India, to expose them to the Indian market.

One MTC, CIC Marketing Sdn Bhd, which is part of a group that manufactures adhesive tapes used in a range of industries such as construction, automotive, packaging, solar and semi-conductors, was in Chennai recently.

CIC’s Business Director, Kenneth Yao, told Business Line that the company is on the lookout for joint venture partners. The partner could even start to manufacture the products in India, and CIC Marketing would co-invest. Another company, EQX, which (among other products) makes a chemical called ‘ethylene tetra fluoroethylene’, better known as ETFE. Films made of ETFE are used in the manufacture of solar panels.

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