Change Of Guard At Matrade Office In New York

NEW YORK, July 11 (Bernama) -- The New York office of the Malaysian External Trade Development Corp (Matrade), is having a change of guard with Muhd Sharulmiza Zakaria replacing its current Senior Trade Commissioner, Mohd Mustafa Abd Aziz. The change is effective July 11 and Mohd Mustafa is being transferred to Dubai. In an interview with Bernama, Mohd Mustafa said that his one-year stint in New York had been "quite an experience". "I enjoyed my posting in the world’s biggest market in terms of value. The US market offers opportunities despite the economic slowdown. Amid the uncertainties, we were able to draw major US importers to Malaysia to participate in trade fairs," he added. Mohd Mustafa said that he discerned clear opportunities for Malaysia in the services sector. "Islamic banking, for example, is an area that is filled with good business potential," he added. He said he had succeeded in engaging big league US players such as Family Dollar and Walmart. Family Dollar is known to import furniture from Malaysia, while one of the vendors of Walmart, recently visited Malaysia to source stationery products. The Walmart vendor, according to New York based sources, is a US$140 million turnover company. Two-way US-Malaysia trade during the first four months of 2012 amounted to US$8.252 billion, down 2.04 per cent compared to the corresponding months of the previous year. Mohd Mustafa attributed the decline to the overall weak economic recovery in the United States where demand for certain industrial products has fallen. The "bright spots" however, can be seen in the strong rebound in furniture imports (20.24 per cent), and surgical instruments (9.68 per cent). Malaysia is the second largest Asean exporting nation to the US. Meanwhile, Mohd Mustafa’s successor, Muhd Sharulmiza said he was overwhelmed by the vibrancy of New York, its rich cultural diversity and well-functioning infrastructure. Muhd Sharulmiza who looked after the North American region, said that he will push exports of among others, electrical/electronic products, commodities, and services. "The US will always be an important market for Malaysian products. We will look forward to building on the existing strong ties with the US," he added. -- BERNAMA