Jafza International, the free zone management division of Jafza, yesterday (Monday, June 12, 2006) jointly organised a seminar with Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) and Westports from Malaysia titled, “Logistics Opportunities in Westports and PKFZ in Port Klang, Malaysia”, to facilitate trade between Malaysia and the U.A.E. The Hon. Minister of Transport, Malaysia, Senior Government Officials and Port representatives from Malaysia were present at the seminar to support the programme.
The seminar was organised to attract investors, manufacturers and shipping lines in the U.A.E. to Port Klang and be a part of PKFZ, which is managed by Jafza International. More than 400 prominent shipping and maritime industry leaders attended the seminar, officiated by Malaysia’s Hon. Minister of Transport, Dato’ Sri Chan Kong Choy.
The Hon. Minister said, “Being the only free zone in Malaysia to integrate both industrial and commercial operations within the same zone, and with our reputation of providing first-class amenities to our tenants, we have a natural advantage of attracting numerous foreign investments. In the recent years Malaysia has been witnessing numerous investments from the U.A.E. and we are confident that our partnership with Jafza will bring in more investments and enhance two-way trade between the U.A.E. and Malaysia.”
“The objective of our Roadshow in Dubai is to attract investors from the U.A.E to invest and do business in Malaysia, to enhance bilateral trade between Malaysia and the U.A.E. It is also designed to attract investors from Jafza International who have plans to expand their businesses to PKFZ, Malaysia.” noted the Minister.
Jafza emphasized its role in promoting PKFZ as an ideal place for investments from companies and corporations, considering the strategic location, state-of-the-art facilities, efficient services and incentives offered by the free zone as well as Westports, Malaysia’s leading seaport located adjoining PKFZ.
Speaking at the press conference held during the seminar, Ms.Salma Hareb, CEO of Jafza said, “The development of PKFZ represents a major step towards sustaining the Malaysian government's goal of making Port Klang a regional distribution base as well as a trade and logistics centre. With Jafza’s expertise in international free zone development and management, our partnership with PKFZ is in line with our objective of enhancing Jafza International’s global presence and domestic growth.”
“Through this seminar, we are looking to further strengthen our partnership with Malaysia and avidly promote the world-class amenities offered by PKFZ, which will in turn benefit investors within Jafza as well as outside. We are proud to be involved in such an important project at Port Klang and we are working closely with them to fulfill their mission of becoming South East Asia's leading Free Zone,” added Ms. Salma Hareb.
Developed in an area of 405 hectares within Port Klang, PKFZ is Malaysia's first fully integrated free commercial and industrial zone. Being adjacent to Westports and close to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), investors in the Free Zone will be able to conveniently connect to sea or air transportation to or from any destination in the world.
Malaysia, as one of the biggest trading nations in the Muslim world, is widely recognized and acknowledged for its certification standard for Halal food. It also has a highly developed logistics network including ports, airports, rail and road connections, and is fast becoming a hub for Islamic financing as well.
There are a lot of synergies that can be packaged together. Malaysia is already recognized with Islamic standards worldwide and the Halal-approved food acceptance would eventually become the international standard for all races. This is because the Halal standards (MS 1500:2004) meet both the requirements of the Muslim community and the international health and safety standards.
Meanwhile, Westports is excited on the prospect of engaging more West Asian Main Line Operators to call at its port. Current Westports capacity is 6 million TEUs (Twenty Foot Equivalent Units) and has the capacity to handle up to 10 million TEUs within the next five years. The recent surge in trade between Malaysia and West Asia is also exemplified by the strong growth of containers from West Asian Shipping Lines such as UASC, IRISL and Simatech, who are all major customers of Westports. They view Westports as their favorite port due to the efficiency and productivity that the port provides. Westports says they should not only use Port Klang as a stepping stone to reach the 550 million people in South-East Asia, but also as a base for their business.
