Efficiency drive helps boost bilateral trade
Anyone from Hong Kong doing business or relocating to work in Malaysia may have noticed a few changes of late. Procedures ranging from obtaining an expat employment permit or sealing a property deal, to renewing business licences and clearance for imports and exports have been substantially improved, according to official reports.
The untangling of red tape and the efficiency drive in government departments has largely been spearheaded by Pemudah - or the Special Task Force to Facilitate Business.
The high-powered unit is a public-private sector initiative that arose from a speech made by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi in January last year. A month later the task force was formed comprising 23 leaders from the public and private sectors with the nation's top civil servant and the president of Malaysia's manufacturers association at the helm. Its mission is to improve the delivery of services.
Malaysia's consul general to Hong Kong, Cheong Loon Lai, said Pemudah was the driving force behind changes to make his nation a better place to do business. Changes were being made rapidly with the aim of ensuring the achievements continued. 'Malaysia wishes to improve its business environment ... [to] facilitate services-related investment and activities,' Mr Cheong said, adding that Malaysia could learn a great deal from Hong Kong 'by benchmarking against the HKSAR in the development of the services sector'.
Mr Cheong, who has been in his Hong Kong post for nearly six months after previously being stationed in Moscow, said he believed bilateral trade levels could increase with better co-operation between businesses. High on the list was development of the services sector, integrated logistics, distributive trade, education and training, information and communications technologies, and financial services, including Islamic finance.
Hong Kong is Malaysia's eighth-largest trading partner, the sixth-largest export destination and tenth-largest source of imports, according to consulate figures. Between January and April this year, total trade between Malaysia and Hong Kong amounted to US$4billion, with exports totalling US$2.5billion and imports US$1.5billion.
'There is obviously a huge potential for a larger volume of Malaysian products to be distributed by and traded through Hong Kong, [and] worldwide,' he said.