Malaysia-Fiji trade links sealed

Advertising Feature

By Akanisi Motufaga

MALAYSIA’S investment presence in Hji goes back 20 years with the sale of Fiji Resorts Limited to the Kuok Group.

The local hotel company owned Fiji Mocambo Hotel and The Fijian.

Over the years the investment has grown with the establishment of textile factories, hotels, trading firms and the introduction of Malaysian-made cars.

For some companies, it was the quota free access into other overseas markets which attracted them to invest in Fiji, while for others it was the encourage ment by Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Mahathir.

Apart from Fiji, Malaysian investment is also present in Papua New Guinea in the form of merchant banks, insurance companies, travel agencies and timber yards.

Malaysia’s ambassador to Fiji, Ffai

Bak Ng, said Prime Minister Mahathir had always stressed the need to have closer trade links which was one of the reasons for setting up an embassy in Fiji.

Ambassador Ng said Malaysian com panies were looking at investment in other Pacific countries but wanted to learn first from the Fiji experience.

“It is like a chicken and egg situation.

Do we go there and hope for the sea and air transport to improve or do we wait for them to improve and then go?,” he said.

On investment potential, Ambassador Ng said there was trust by Malaysian investors and this was evident in expan sion plans currently being carried out by Malaysian-owned hotels. for instance, The Fijian, which is now called Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort, has embarked on a SIO-million facelift. This will be completed in next December.

In the last five years, the parent company has spent 515.5 million on The Fijian and 52.5 million on Fiji Mocambo.

This involves the upgrading of facilities and extensions. “Even with Courtesy Inn the)’ spent a sum in investment.

“Although the Malaysian presence is, by comparison, a small presence, it is helping in the economic sense. It is providing the* customer an alternative supply of goods and services,” he said.

He said Fiji and Malaysia had a strong friendship bond and a close bilateral relationship which was why Malaysia was the only ASEAN country with a resident embassy in Fiji.

There are currently three hotels, two textile factories, a bank and trading store that are Malaysian-owned.

Berjaya Group of Malaysia owns Courtesy Inn and has shares in textile factories.

Inter-Pacific Trading Sdn Bhd., is a trading firm specialising in the distri bution of goods which includes office equipment, durable and non-durable consumer goods and furniture.

The cither hotels are Fiji Mocambo and Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort while the bank, National MBI Finance (Fiji) Limited, is a joint venture between MBf finance Berhad and Fiji-government owned National Bank of Fiji.

A former Malaysian-owned company, SI A International (Fiji) Limited, re cently changed hands while a Fijian owned company, Nakiti Holdings, has embarked on a supplier arrangement with a Malaysian firm.

Recently, five Proton Saga cars were imported from Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Berhad in Malaysia. The local agents are Pala’s Auto Services Limited.