Malaysia Has Potential To Be Regional MRO Hub - Defence Minister

KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has the potential of becoming a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) hub for military aircraft from Asean countries and the Asian region. Defence Minister of Malaysia Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Malaysia had professional and capable manpower in the MRO area which had gained foreign recognition. "If Malaysia prepares itself early for this, we will be at the forefront in grabbing the opportunities from rapid development in the MRO industry," he told reporters after closing the two-day international conference on Military MRO which had 130 participants. The minister noted that some foreign countries including in Asia were raising their military capability, including increasing the number of their jet fighters. This, he said, would provide a good opportunity for Malaysia to expand its MRO industry. Ahmad Zahid said Malaysian companies had established cooperation with American and European countries in military and commercial MRO. He said this showed the foreign countries' high level of confidence in the capability and achievements of local MRO companies. He suggested that local MRO companies establish cooperation between them to reduce competition. "This will open up bigger opportunities for them to expand their business at the international level and not just focus on the domestic market," he said. -- BERNAMA