Malaysia's trade volume up 26% this year

KEPALA BATAS: The country's trade volume for the first eight months of this year reached RM1.163tril.

International Trade and Industry Minister II Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan said this was an increase of 22.6% compared with the corresponding period last year.

He said the strong performance could be attributed to the steady global demand for electrical and electronic (E&E) products, which accounted for 36.6% of the country's exports.

"It could be due to the Industry 4.0, which is all about digitalisation.

"Many countries need electronic parts to improve their … factories.

"We export these parts to China, Europe, and the United States" he told a press conference at the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) here Tuesday.

Ong had earlier officiated at a briefing session by Malaysia Industrial Development Finance Berhad (MIDF) that was hosted by the International Council for SMEs and Entrepreneurship Malaysia (ICSMEE) Penang Chapter.

He said his ministry was confident of achieving RM1.5tril in trade this year, surpassing the RM1.48tril achieved last year.

"By August, we had already breached the RM1tril mark. I am confident that the trade volume will reach the RM1.5tril mark as we still have a few months to go," he said.