Malaysia, Singapore urged to tap each other’s advantages
SINGAPORE: Singapore's Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang has urged Malaysia and Singapore to capitalise on each other's comparative advantages to brave the global economic volatilities ahead.
“In the uncertain global economic climate, Malaysia and Singapore should reinforce each other's growth by finding collaborative niches in the manufacturing and services value chains. This will help us ride out the economic volatility that lies ahead,” he said at the Malaysia-Singapore Business Forum 2011 last week.
Lim also encouraged businesses in Singapore to leverage their expertise with Malaysian companies by integrating business or manufacturing processes across the borders.
Lim: ‘Iskandar and Singapore could well have the potential to develop into a seamless economic space some day.’
“The close proximity between Iskandar Malaysia and Singapore means that managing such integrated processes can be faster and easier. This is a valuable proposition that should be exploited.
“Looking ahead into the future, with the right match of industries and connectivity for goods and people further enhanced, Iskandar and Singapore could well have the potential to develop into a seamless economic space some day,” he said.
Singapore is Malaysia's largest trading partner. From January to October 2011, bilateral trade grew 3.8% to US$92.6bil (RM296bil) from the same corresponding period.
According to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida), Singapore was the fifth largest investor in Malaysia for the first eight months of 2011, contributing RM1.9bil worth of manufacturing-related investments.
Meanwhile, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said companies from both Malaysia and Singapore needed to find a balance on where they could compete with and complement each other.
“We have to be realistic. In some areas we complement, other areas we compete. At the end of the day, it's about who is the most productive and it's the best man that wins.”