Malaysia aerospace industry to grow by 7% this year

Mustapa: "We are aware that congressional leaders appear not too keen to bring the bill forward during the lame duck session. The fate of the TPPA will therefore depend on whether the new US Presidency will ratify the agreement.

LANGKAWI: Malaysia’s aerospace industry is expected to grow by seven per cent this year on robust demand for aircraft from Asian countries, especially China and India.

Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, said aerospace manufacturing, a major part of the industry in Malaysia, was expected to contribute 55% to the industry’s overall value this year.

“The maintenance, repair and overhaul industry’s revenue will continue to increase, especially in the engine and engine components segment, with a targeted revenue of RM6bil.

“This growth will create 1,500 highly-skilled job oportunities,” Mustapa told reporters this after launching the Malaysian Aerospace Industry Blueprint 2030 progress report here today.

He had also witnessed the exchange of eight memoranda of understanding and memoranda of agreement between various industry players, including foreigners.

Among them were DRB-Hicom Bhd’s unit, Composite Technology and Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd, which exchanged documents with various parties, including HICOM University College, on general cooperation in human capital development and product research.

Mustapa said many companies in the car and oil and gas sectors had begun venturing into the aerospace industry, indicating that the strong growth in the sector was attracting players from other industries.

On investment, Mustapa said, 10 companies, with the potential investment of about RM1bil, had expressed interests to invest in Malaysia.

Last year, nine aerospace projects were approved with investments of RM1.6bil, of which RM673.9mil were from domestic investors and RM889.4mil were by foreign investors.

The investments were expected to generate 1,766 employment opportunities.

Malaysia’s aerospace industry export last year rose by 32.6% to RM5.53bil compared with 2015, mainly from aerospace parts and components.

Meanwhile, imports of aircraft, raw materials and spares were recorded at RM11.94bil, mainly contributed by the fleet expansion and replacement of the aviation sector. - Bernama