Australian and Malaysian Ministers Encourage Two-Way Investment

Deputy Prime Minister and Trade Minister Mark Vaile and his Malaysian counterpart, Minister for International Trade and Industry, the Hon Dato’ Seri Rafidah Aziz, praised the long-standing trade and investment ties between Australia and Malaysia at today’s 13^th Australia-Malaysia Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting.

Both Ministers agreed that the negotiations to conclude a bilateral FTA reflected a confidence in each others markets and were reflective of the warm bilateral relationship.

Mr Vaile said bilateral trade with Malaysia was steadily increasing, with Malaysia currently Australia’s second largest trading partner in ASEAN and our ninth largest trading partner overall.

“Bilateral two-way merchandise trade grew by 7.6 per cent in 2005 to A$8.6 billion, and Australia’s services exports to Malaysia grew by 7.7 per cent to A$1.05 billion”, Mr Vaile said.

Mr Vaile noted strengthening political and economic relations had encouraged investors, who were becoming increasingly aware of investment opportunities that existed in each country. Most recently IBA Health, the largest Australian listed health IT company, had concluded a series of health management contracts in Malaysia, while insurance group IAG had also concluded a 70 million dollar investment in the Malaysian insurance sector. For its part, Malaysia was now Australia’s 12^th largest investor.

Mr Vaile and Ms Rafidah Aziz used the 13^th JTC to discuss progress in negotiations on a Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement including market access on goods and investment. They also reviewed a range of bilateral cooperative trade activities conducted under the JTC.

Mr Vaile said studies undertaken prior to the start of the Malaysia/Australia FTA negotiations indicated that an FTA has the potential to boost Australia’s GDP by $1.9 billion over 20 years, and increase Malaysia’s GDP by around $6.5 billion over the same period.

Both Minister Vaile and Minister Rafidah expressed disappointment that the WTO Doha Round had been suspended and called for a renewed effort and flexibility by members to restart the negotiations.

“Particularly at a time when the Doha Round is struggling, it is incumbent on us to seek to pursue trade liberalisation by other means to assist our business people. We are hopeful that a bilateral FTA with Malaysia can further integrate our economies by opening up trade and investment opportunities,” Mr Vaile said.

Contact: Mr Vaile's Office 02 6277 7420, Departmental 02 6261 1555