- Malaysia urges growth of homegrown MNCs by integrating manufacturing and services.
- Liew calls for value-adding activities, rejecting the separation of services and manufacturing.
- AIFTIS 2025 sets key pillars to boost Malaysia’s service sector competitiveness.
Deputy Minister Liew Chin Tong stated that Malaysia must develop its own multinational companies (MNCs) within the manufacturing and services sectors. He stated that the sector has historically followed theories that consider manufacturing and services as separate entities, including the idea that economies will ultimately transition to services and away from manufacturing.
Liew stated that although the services sector is essential, it should develop alongside manufacturing to enhance the overall economy. "Our port facilities, our port services, our airport services, our air services, our airlines, the supply chain is very much both a manufacturing activity and also a service. “So I think it is important for us to do away with the theory of separating services from manufacturing, and we want to see a lot more value-adding activities to increase and improve both manufacturing and services (sectors),” he said in his opening address at the ASEAN International Fair For Trade In Services (AIFTIS) 2025.
At the same time, the president of the Malaysian Service Providers Confederation (MSPC), Datuk Seri Zohari Akob, stated that AIFTIS 2025 will function as the annual reporting platform for Malaysia's service providers, offering insight into the factors that establish productivity and competitiveness levels.
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The pillars include industry trust marking, professional mobility standards, capacity development programmes, technology implementation practices and cyber security measures, in addition to trade connectivity improvements and market access opportunities.
He mentioned that these pillars serve as the essential principles that direct their actions, and through partnerships, Malaysia can build the momentum to position itself as the central hub for professional and digital services in ASEAN.
"AIFTIS brings these pillars together, aligning private sector initiatives with public sector leadership to create an ecosystem of trust, technology and talent development," he said.