Malaysia Aims To Find New Export Mkts In US: Trade Min

Malaysia Aims To Find New Export Mkts In US: Trade Min Asia Press Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia will try to find new export markets in the U.S. and Southeast Asia to offset the worsening economic downturn following the terrorist attacks in the U.S., a top trade official said.

The Malaysian government this week slashed its growth forecast for 2001 to around 2 percent in anticipation of a global slowdown made worse by the attacks. Electrical goods and components are Malaysia's main export and the U.S. its biggest customer.

International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz said Malaysia would try to develop new U.S. markets away from the east and west coasts, and aimed to double its exports to Southeast Asian countries. She didn't give a timeframe.

Speaking to reporters late Wednesday, Rafidah said 25 percent of Malaysia's total exports currently went to Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, countries.

"With more than 500 million consumers in Asean, we have the potential to increase exports within Asean itself," she was quoted as saying by the Bernama national news agency.

In the U.S., Malaysia had concentrated too much on the heavily populated east and west, leaving large potential markets untapped, she was reported as saying.

"We will continue to export to the U.S. and will not reduce exports because we do not want to lose our foothold there," she was quoted as saying.

Rafidah said she would soon lead a trade mission to Shanghai and Beijing to look for new export markets, and officials would also work on developing new European markets.

She said that exports of computer chips and electronic products will face problems because of expected falling demand among U.S. electronic companies in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington.