Malaysian govt urges firms to learn from Indian model

Malaysian govt urges firms to learn from Indian model

Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia is keen to build on its economic relationship with India, and its small- and medium-sized companies could learn much from their Indian counterparts, the Malaysian government said on Monday.

Malaysia cannot afford to ignore India, "a stirring economic giant whose time has come," Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wrote in a speech for the first Malaysia-India Economic Conference 2005 in Kuala Lumpur.

Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop delivered Abdullah's speech on Monday. The prime minister was unable to attend the conference due to parliamentary commitments.

India is Asia's second-fastest growing economy after China. Abdullah said India's middle class is the world's largest with 300 million people, and that the country's economy is set to expand by more than 8 percent in 2005 and 2006.

Malaysia is India's biggest trading partner in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Trade between the two countries was worth US$3.2 billion in the decade 1993-2003.

"Malaysia is keen to significantly upgrade its economic relationship with India, and will do its part to make this happen," Abdullah said.

There are more than 20 Indian-owned companies and 50 Indian- Malaysian joint ventures in Malaysia, and a further 56 Malaysian firms have Indian stakeholders, Abdullah said. But he saw the potential for greater cooperation.

"The day is not far when Malaysian and Indian industry can join forces to collectively compete for economic opportunities at the global level," Abdullah said. He invited Indian companies to invest more in Malaysian agro-based industries and biotechnology.

Small and medium enterprises, which account for 95 percent of manufacturing firms in India, will play an integral role in driving the Indian economy forward, the prime minister said.

He said these businesses are successful because of their personnel and that Malaysian enterprises could become more competitive if they studied the Indian model.

"Malaysian companies can learn a lot from their Indian counterparts in the field of enterprise and entrepreneurship, as well as in human capital development," Abdullah said.