ID :
498556
Wed, 07/18/2018 - 09:18
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Hungarian Investors See Malaysia As Best Entry Gate To Asean Market

By Samantha Tan Chiew Tieng KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 (Bernama) – Investors from Hungary regard Malaysia as the best entry point for them to tap into the South East Asian market of 600 million people, according to the country's Ambassador Attila Kali. "In Malaysia, you have the legal and institutional background and well established infrastructures necessary for companies to enter the Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations) market. Malaysia is an attractive destination and partner for Hungarian businesses," the envoy said. He also expressed confidence that bilateral ties between Budapest and Putrajaya will continue to flourish under the new Malaysian government. "I am optimistic on the relations due to the government's openness and commitment in raising the cooperation to a higher level," he said, adding that he expected to see more high level movements between the two countries in the coming years. "Hungarian investors see Malaysia as a gateway to the rest of Asean and vice-versa Hungary could be a good gateway for Malaysian companies to enter the European market. We have enquiries from both sides on investment opportunities,” he told Bernama in an interview recently. Kali said his embassy was also working on raising awareness of the business potentials available in Hungary while getting the Hungarian businesses to see the enormous opportunities offered by Malaysia. "We see more and more enquiries from Hungarian businesses mainly in information technology (IT), technology solutions, medical devices, food and beverage industry like the processed meat products. There is a challenge getting accreditation from Malaysian authorities but we are not giving up and working on it," he said. Several Hungarian companies, are also eager to bring their solutions and technologies to the Malaysian market with their expertise in the areas of water management such as purification, waste water treatment, small scale hydro power system, as well as green technologies aimed at promoting a cleaner environment. Kali said he also wanted to see more involvement of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from both sides in the trade between the two countries and hoped the community could be more active and play a bigger role in the Hungary-Malaysia bilateral trade. Currently, there is more participation from the multinational companies, he said. "The embassy is trying to support Hungarian SMEs to find opportunities in the Malaysian market," he added. On their political relations, Kali said it has been stable with no outstanding issues between Hungary and Malaysia. With this good foundation, the move now will be to build the economic, cultural, education and tourism links, he said. Kali also said his embassy was actively promoting Hungary as a tourism destination. Known for its rich and classic architecture, culture, natural treasures and heritage sites, its capital Budapest has been also enjoying the name "the world's spa capital" for decades. Another popular feature of Hungary is its rich thermal waters, which contain dissolved minerals, providing medicinal and curative powers both in bathing and drinking waters. Currently there are over thousand wells in Hungary that supply hot water with most of them being medicinal water. Located in central Europe, Hungary is a medium-sized member state of the European Union with a population of about 10 million. -- BERNAMA

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