Source: The Star, Malaysia                       Date: 31 March, 2011

Many established brand names from Asean can be introduced to Mongolia, and Malaysia hopes to be in the forefront with property and infrastructure development, IT products and services and education.  Malaysian companies doing business in China are now looking to expand beyond there, with Mongolia considered the next destination.

MyKRIS Asia Sdn Bhd corporate and government affairs director Lawrence Chang has described Mongolia as a country “kind of like Malaysia”, where the fiber optics infrastructure has already been laid, but with a problem in the last-mile connection to households. “Mongolia is the best place for us to be as its government and people are changing their mindset on IT,” he said. However, Mongolia’s small population and geographical barriers are some of the company’s concerns.

In February, the Kuala Lumpur-based Asean Retail-Chains and Franchise Federation (ARFF) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mongolian Franchise Association to help bring more franchise names from Asean to Mongolia. ARFF Malaysia chapter president Datuk Dr Chin See Keat said many established brand names from Malaysia and Asean nations could be introduced to Mongolia, and the federation could share its expertise with Mongolian retailers.

Recently, Datuk Iskandar Sarudin, the Malaysian Ambassador to China, who is also accredited to Mongolia, led a delegation of about 20 businessmen from Malaysia to Ulaanbaatar. During their two-day trip, the delegation met Prime Minister S. Batbold and the Mongolian business fraternity. They outlined the sectors in which Malaysian and Mongolian companies can cooperate, namely, property and utilities development, education, petro-chemicals and IT.  “We know that Malaysia has experience in property and infrastructure development, IT products, services and education that Mongolia needs very much,” Mr. Batbold told the delegation.

“There is good reason for Malaysian companies in China to expand to Mongolia as it is heavily dependent on China,” the Ambassador said. His embassy has been assigned to strengthen economic and political ties with their Mongolian counterparts. Although Malaysia does not have an embassy in Ulaanbaatar, its officials from Beijing would travel to Mongolia from time to time to maintain a good rapport.

Sunzen Biotech Bhd is looking to supply its Orgacids products to horse and cattle farms in Mongolia. Its director Dr P.C. Kok said he had met some Mongolian dealers and distributors who were interested in giving the anti-bacterial Orgacids a try.

Mongolia may not be one of Malaysia’s top 10 trading nations, but the surge in trade between the nations and Mongolia’s projected GDP growth of more than 20% in the next five years augurs well for growth prospects. Last year, total trade rose 50% to about USD30 million from 2009, in Malaysia’s favor. Malaysia exported machinery, paper and paperboards, cocoa, sugar and fats and oils to Mongolia, and imported goods like optical and medical instruments and fish products. In the last five years, Mongolia has drawn in foreign investments to its mining sector. It is said every dollar in mining creates an additional demand of 1.84 dollars in other sectors.