Malaysia continues to strengthen its economic ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after signing an additional two collaboration agreements during the recently-concluded State of Selangor week, which was one of the 26 weekly thematic trade and business programmes hosted by the Malaysia Pavilion throughout Expo 2020 Dubai.
In the first collaboration, Malaysia-based Northport (Malaysia) Bhd, a member of MMC Group, signed a Strategic Collaboration Agreement with UAE-based Sea Hawk Lines Shipping LLC to develop its conventional liquid bulk business at Northport’s facilities.
Liquid bulk cargo is commonly carried unpackaged in varying volumes and transported from one port to another by purpose-built vessels – or often referred to as tankers – to ease the loading and unloading process. These cargoes include items like sunflower oil, canola oil, corn oil, caustic, palm oil, and sulfuric acid.
As part of this agreement, both parties will engage in knowledge sharing to exchange expertise, technical capabilities, and resources, with the aspiration to position Northport, in Selangor, as the regional distribution hub for Sea Hawk’s liquid bulk customers in the ASEAN region.
The agreement was signed by Dato’ Azman Shah Mohd Yusof, Chief Executive Officer of Northport and Mr. Mani Krishnan, Director of Sea Hawk. The signing was witnessed by:
- His Highness Tengku Amir Shah Ibni Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj, the Crown Prince of Selangor
- His Excellency Dato’ Mohd Tarid Sufian, Ambassador of Malaysia to the United Arab Emirates
- The Honourable Dato’ Teng Chang Khim, Selangor State Executive Councillor for Industry and Trade
The second collaboration was signed between Lulu Group International and Invest Selangor Berhad to continue its partnership to raise the profile of Selangor’s entrepreneurs across all of Lulu’s platforms, in Malaysia. This is a golden opportunity for Malaysian SMEs to feature their products and services across Lulu’s vast network of businesses. The collaboration testifies to both parties’ aspiration that is to create an ecosystem which will drive value for these entrepreneurs’ businesses.
The Honourable Dato’ Teng Chang Khim, Selangor State Executive Councillor for Industry and Trade said: “There has been a keen interest to learn more about and invest in Selangor because of its strategic location, existing infrastructure and port which has been there for more than 100 years. Our focus is to build opportunities for our SMEs globally, as well as encouraging businesses to set up base in Selangor and take advantage of our initiatives.”
He added that Lulu international is well established in the UAE and across Malaysia, and the collaboration aligns well with the state’s objectives of enhancing access for entrepreneurs in the state to grow their businesses in the retail industry.
Dato’ Teng also noted that during the trade and business programme, the 15 companies from Selangor which participated in the State of Selangor Week managed to network and connect with several potential buyers and counterparts from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Europe through 158 scheduled business matching meetings, in efforts to generate business leads through their participation in the World Expo.
In just the first three months of Expo, Malaysia’s robust trade and business programmes in Expo 2020 Dubai has seen its participating companies achieving over USD8.38 billion in potential returns on trade and investments with the global business community.
Malaysia’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai is led by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation with Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation as implementing agency. The weekly programmes are led and supported by 21 ministries, five state governments and 70 government agencies, with the participation of about 300 companies.
