The Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry’s (MITI) New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP2030) is being drafted to drive industrial development and advance Malaysia’s economic complexity.

To be launched in August, NIMP2030’s objective is very much in line with the New Investment Policy that has clearly identified five sectors that could help enhance future exports of more complex products, said its minister, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

“The sectors are aerospace, chemicals/petrochemicals, digital economy, electrical and electronics (E&E; including medical devices), and pharmaceuticals,” he said, adding that out of the top five exported products, only E&E and chemicals can be considered as products with higher complexity.

“The lower the ranking on the complexity scale, the less manufacturing is required to produce the product. So, if production complexity determines our future growth, how do we ensure our future exports are made up of more products with a higher complexity?” he said during the official launch of Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation’s (MATRADE) Digital Trade Platform (MDTP) here today.

To achieve higher economic complexity, Tengku Zafrul said, the NIMP2030 task force is also looking at making Malaysia a digitally – vibrant country by accelerating technology adoption, spurring the next generation of innovation companies, and developing business opportunities by leveraging new data sources, particularly among small and medium enterprises.

Meanwhile, MATRADE’s MDTP has surpassed its five-year target in less than one year of its soft launch.

MDTP, introduced in July 2022 in collaboration with data technology market leader Fusionex Group, is an artificial intelligence trade platform that aims to maximize Malaysia’s export potential and assist local SMEs in expanding their businesses globally.

Fusionex CEO Datuk Seri Ivan Tan said that in terms of revenue and sales, more than RM100 million transactions were recorded through MDTP.

“We have more than 1,200 SMEs that are on board already right now. If you look at the turnout today and if you multiply with 10 products for each of them, we already have about 15,000 stock-keeping units on board,” he told reporters.

MDTP is expected to attract a total of 50,000 SMEs in 10 years. It has welcomed numerous international buyers from China, Japan, Korea, the US, the UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia, India, Dubai, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Brunei.

– Bernama