KDN PP 14083/07/2012(030511)

ReviewVolume VIII No. 1 January 2012

EU

MC

CI

The Business Digest of the European Union-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry

A Change Coming for Malaysia’s Car Industry?

Automotive

EUMCCI Review 3

Editorial

The past year has certainly proved challenging as major segments of the global eco­nomy have moved closer to recession. In Europe lengthy discussions have taken place to gain political consensus on fiscal consolidation and adjustment. Many countries have felt the impact of such measures yet still seen credit ratings decline. Whilst the solution according to some analysts is closer European fiscal union this has had an impact on global investor

sentiment. As a result Malaysia’s export trade could suffer in the coming year as demand is predicted to ease.

Whilst many countries experienced significant challenges, many sectors of the Malaysian economy performed well over the past year. The main growth areas were manufacturing and services, the latter growing by more than 6 percent in the year. It is expected that overall growth of more than 5% will be realised in 2011 when final figures are released. At the end of November, the Organisation for Economic and Cooperative Development forecast that Malaysia’s GDP would expand by more than 5% each year through to 2016. The 2012 budget will likely encourage domestic demand, but this will not offset underperformance in exports. For 2012 the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, IMF and the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research believe Malaysia’s GDP will rise between 4.7% and 5.1%.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rose by 43% to $8.3bn during the first nine months of the year when compared to the same period in 2010 and is likely to exceed $10bn for the year as forecasted by the government, the result mainly of large ETP projects. Further, based on a recent report from Fitch, the financial sector remains steady and is well placed to cope with issues in the global economy. The forthcoming election will undoubtedly have an impact on such predictions based on investor and consumer confidence and the government will need to be resilient to face the economic challenges ahead.

Nonetheless leadership is about shaping a vision and having the right tools and resources to be able to deliver. So what can Malaysia do to continue to be efficient and productive over the coming years? There is no simple answer. However I am strong believer in the need to continue to develop and improve human capital. If Malaysia wishes to be at the forefront of investors’ minds it needs to show a well­educated highly productive workforce. I am absolutely convinced that this singular factor is how Malaysia will continue to compete versus its near neighbours. This cannot be achieved by bringing in low paid unskilled labour. It must be achieved through sustained investment in high technology processes and ensuring the Malaysian staff are suitably trained to operate and maintain such equipment. Industry must play its role in this process. I regularly meet with many young Malaysians and

I am heartened by their desire to improve themselves. Nonetheless to raise the bar for all, more investment in education is required. This is not so much in physical infrastructure but mainly in learning approaches and methodologies. Through this will come greater creativity and innovation.

This needs to be supported by sound R&D practices with direct industry involvement, where perceptions must change so that this is seen as an investment not an expenditure. Such effort needs to be reinforced by strict observation of intellectual property rights. This together with learning from Europe on sound corporate social responsibility practices will give Malaysia the leading edge so crucially desired. Malaysia needs to continue to demonstrate an investor friendly approach and where required, this may require reciprocity and adoption of more transparent trade practices. By becoming more global in attitude will place Malaysia well under the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement timed for 2015, both for trade and investment within ASEAN but also from Europe and other countries.

As a Chamber we remain engaged in realising the above objectives through our various industry sector committees. We see this as a key part of our business services to bring value to our membership where the members within their particular sectors review, discuss and table common issues and offer suggestions for improvement. This is on a voluntary basis and I wish to take this opportunity to thank them all for their considerable efforts. We will continue to grow and strengthen these sectoral Committees.

The EUMCCI will continue to seek ways to make a valuable contribution in facilitating dialogue on areas concerning the impact of bilateral foreign direct investment and trade and to make appropriate recommendations to enhance the competitive landscape in Malaysia. In line with the ASEAN Free Trade Area we plan to form the European ASEAN Business Council across the European Chambers operating in the region. The main objectives are to engage in a high­level public­private dialogue between the two trade blocks with policy makers and to present industry sector specific recommendations. We have also been providing information in support of the on­going EU­Malaysia Free Trade Agreement discussions which are currently timetabled to conclude later this year. We are actively leading an EU co­funded project on the services sector in Malaysia. This is proceeding well with many recommendations having been made across in Green Technology, Financial Services, ICT and the Logistics sectors. This program will also conclude at the end of this year.

We have a strong and effective Executive Committee who operate again on a voluntary basis and a Management Team who do much to work with you our Corporate Partners and I am sincerely grateful for their time and effort. There are significant challenges ahead but I am confident and excited at what we will be able to achieve in 2012. May I take this opportunity to wish you a happy, successful and prosperous year ahead.

David A JonesChairman, EUMCCI

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Contents

6

20

28 36

21

3 EDITORIAL

6 CHAMBER IN FOCUS

18 EVENTSQuarterly Economic Panel Discussion 2012 – Exploring Trade Corridors Beyond 2012

MDeC in Penang

EU Malaysia Green Technology Business Platform 2011

EUMCCI Corporate Partner Appreciation Evening

Upcoming Events

Europa Awards

Tastes of Europe Fest 2012

Published byEU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce & Industry (EUMCCI)

Office AddressSuite 3.03, Menara Atlan (Naluri)161B Jalan Ampang50450 Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTel: +603-2162 6298Fax: +603-2162 6198E-mail: eumcci@eumcci.comWebsite:www.eumcci.com

EUMCCI BoardChairmanDavid Jones

Honourary TreasurerDato’ Robert Teo

Austria: Franz SchröderCzech Republic: Jan VejmelkaDenmark: Bjarne FoldagerFrance: David AttarFinland: Jari NiemiGermany: Alexander StedtfeldGreece: Stellios PlainiotisIreland: Ron AndersonItaly: Massimo GiannelliMalaysia: Loong CaesarThe Netherlands: Marco WinterPoland: Artur DabkowskiSpain: Luis Lopez

Editorial CommitteeMinna Saneri – EditorRebecca SimmondsStefanie Braukmann – SPRG

Contributing EditorsStefanie BraukmannJacqueline ChangJohan Henrikkson

SubmissionsArticles and other materials of interest to the general membership are actively solicited and may be sent to the Chamber. All materials submitted for publication are subject to editorial review and revisions.

ReproductionNo part of the EUMCCI Review may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical without prior written permission.

Circulation3,000 copies of the EUMCCI Review are distributed, on a quarterly basis to EUMCCI members, all Embassies, industry associations and government officials with whom the Chamber has dealings as well as to European Chambers Worldwide.

Subscription ServiceSubscriptions from non-members are also accepted at RM80.00 (€28.00 abroad) for 4 issues. Individual copies may be purchased at RM25.00 (€8.00 abroad).

Designed byUR Graphic Sdn Bhd

Printed byAnekaprint & Packaging Sdn BhdNo. 6 & 8, Jalan Asa 8, Taman Asa Jaya43000 Kajang, Selangor

24 EU & MALAYSIA NEWS

28 FEATUREAn Interview with Mr Ricky Tay, Volkwagen Malaysia’s New Managing Director

Siemens to Electrify Additional Metro Line Using Hydroelectric Power

POLAND – Low CO2 Emission and Positive GDP growth

36 CORPORATE PARTNER NEWS

38 NEW CORPORATE PARTNERS

On the cover:Mr Ricky Tay, Volkwagen Malaysia’s Managing Director

EUMCCI Review6

Chamber in Focus

EUMCCI makes waves in Penang

A new venture for EUMCCI in 2012 will be expansion of our reach into Penang. In a collaboration with the Malaysian branch of M+W Group, M+W High Tech Projects Malaysia Sdn Bhd, EUMCCI will be opening a Penang desk to reach a greater audience and to inform them of the work that the Chamber does on behalf of Malaysian and

European busi nesses via lobbying and our Sectoral Committees.

Established in Stuttgart, Germany in 1912, M+W has been present in Asia for over 20 years, providing Consulting, Design, Construction, Project Management and Facility Services for the overall lifecycle of high­tech production plants and

The EU­Malaysia Biomass Sustainable Production Initiative (Biomass­SP), a development cooperation project funded by the European Union (EU) under its SWITCH­Asia programme, and jointly promoted by the Malaysian Industry­Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), the Association of Environmental Consultants and Companies of Malaysia (AECCOM), the European Biomass Industry Association (EUBIA), and Danish Tech­nological Institute (DTI), officially launched its EU­Asia Biomass Best Practices & Business Partnering Conference 2012 on Friday, 9 December 2011. H.E Vincent Piket, the Ambassador and Head of Dele­gation of the European Union to Malaysia, graced the launching ceremony.

The Conference which will be held from 7 ­10th May 2012 at the Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia consists of International Conference, Business Match­making, Exhibitions and Business Part­nering Seminar. Only nominal fees will be charged to ensure maximum participation.

The conference comprises of 3 major tracks involving 80 subjects and invited speakers. The areas of focus include biomass as energy, biomass as high value chemicals and biomass as eco­products. The exhibition will also be a great platform

to enhance visibility of your biomass products and services. A total of 400 – 500 participants are expected to attend this premier international conference. The launch itself saw participation from more than 300 biomass stakeholders.

Additionally, the business match­making session will provide opportunities for European and Asian delegates to have a one­to­one business meeting with potential counterparts on biomass development projects. The profile of participating compa nies will be promoted in the Biomass­SP Business Match­making catalogue whereby printed and e­copies will be distributed to prospective biomass companies in Europe and Asia.

In the business match­making session, there are many possible scenarios such as import­export of biomass, joint venture, direct investment, R&D collaboration and commercialisation for various biomass products such as pellets, briquettes, bioplastics, biocomposites, biofertilisers, biofuels, biochemicals, pulp and paper, packaging products, green building materials, etc.

Interested companies from EU can apply for L800 travel grant via EUMCCI. Please contact Ms Jacqueline Chang jacqueline@eumcci.comMore than 300 biomass stakeholders attended the

launching ceremony

Dato’ Leong Kin Mun presenting a token of appreciation to H.E. Vincent Piket

EU-Asia Biomass Best Practices & Business Partnering Conference 2012

infrastructure facilities.

In addition to getting to know the business community of Penang, EUMCCI will also be bringing a few of our signature events (including the ever popular Tastes of Europe Fest) to the island in 2012. With two events in the first two quarters of 2012 and a third planned for later in the year, Penang can look forward to an active EUMCCI year.

If your company is based in Penang and you would like to attend any of our events, or would like more information on the Chamber, please do contact us at events@eumcci.com or visit the website www.eumcci.com

EUMCCI Review 7

Chamber in Focus

“We work to provide member companies with current and useful HR related knowledge, skills and information through appropriate channels such as workshops, seminars, surveys and training program.”

“The Committee provides members the space to exchange, brainstorm and develop new ideas to improve the industry...”

Human Resources

Aerospace Committee

Formed in November 2009, the EUMCCI HR Committee aims to promote the importance of human capital in trade in general and among member companies specifically.

The Committee acts as:• A Lobby Group - We actively gather

feedback and views from members on important and pressing HR issues and channel them to the relevant

Government authorities for discussion and due consideration

• AResourceGroup-Weworktoprovidemember companies with current and useful HR related knowledge, skills and information through appropriate channels such as workshops, seminars, surveys and training program

• ANetworkingGroup-Weworktoraiseawareness of HR matters through meaningful activities and events and to contribute to other Committees in EUMCCI through regular networking or social events

Head of Committee:Ms Chan Swee HwaHuman Resources Director, TNT Express Worldwide (M) Sdn Bhd

Deputy Head of Committee:Mr R. Ravindra KumarPartner Raja Darryl & Loh – Advocates and Solicitors

The Committee provides members the space to exchange, brainstorm and develop new ideas to improve the industry as well as draft relevant guidelines and most of all, enhance our cooperation with

Malaysian and European authorities and representatives.

The stated objectives of the Committee are:• Topromoteimprovedaviationsafetyand

European safety standards• ToraiseawarenessofEuropeanaviation

practices• DevelopmentofroutesbetweentheEU

and Malaysia• To cooperate with EU environmental

initiatives• Educationandtechnicaltraining• To promote Malaysia as an Asia

Aerospace Hub

If you are interested in finding out more about the Aerospace Committee or any of our Sectorial Committees, please contact Ms Ai Li Ch’ng Koch: ailikoch@eumcci.com

High

light

A/S

The EUMCCI Aerospace Committee is formed of 3 Sub­Committees: Air Transport, Advanced Training and MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul), each offering members a platform to discuss and raise key issues in the sector.

EUMCCI Review8

Chamber in Focus

Offshore Asia, the region’s premier conference and exhibition for the offshore E&P industry, will see the annual industry gathering in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 21st to 23rd February.

Offshore Asia is anticipated to receive around 5,000 industry professionals, who will gather for three days at the KLCC Convention Centre, to enjoy the industry’s leading exhibition showcasing the latest technologies, products and services and experience the latest developments and ideas for the future of the Asian offshore E&P sector.

The leading technical conference will see over 30 international speakers delivering presentations covering all aspects of offshore technology exploration and pro­duction issues and challenge, covering oil & gas exploration and production as well as the rapidly expanding LNG industry.

The Opening Plenary Session, on

Offshore Oil & Gas Industry to Gather in Malaysia for Region’s Leading Conference & Exhibition

Energy Efficiency Workshop

Wednesday 22nd February, will see keynote addresses from:• Chen Kah Seong, Head of Petroleum

Engineering Division at PETRONAS Development & Production

• WillRowleyofActeonGroup,whowillprovide an Upstream Outlook

• AtsunoriTakeuchifromTokyoGasCo.,Ltd, presenting an LNG Outlook

The Malaysia Oil & Gas Services Council (MOGSC), has confirmed its support and endorsement for Offshore Asia, following in the footsteps of the Sabah Oil & Gas Contractors Association, Malaysian Society for Engineering & Technology and MATRADE.

Mark Peters, Event Director at PennWell, said, “We are delighted and welcome the endorsement of the Malaysia Oil & Gas Services Council, as well as Sabah Oil & Gas Contractors Association, Malaysian Society for Engineering & Technology and MATRADE. The support of such organiza­

tions demonstrates the importance of the event and information and education value the programme brings to the industry.”

“The Offshore Asia conference and exhibition in Malaysia is a valuable source of information on new technology and operating expertise for the Asia­Pacific region. We invite the oil and gas E&P industry to join us in Kuala Lumpur and look forward to a successful event of networking and information gathering opportunities.” concluded Mr Peters.

EUMCCI is pleased to be able to announce a 20% discount on the OffShore Asia Conference ticket price for EUMCCI Corporate Partners. To access the discount when registering, remember to choose EUMCCI under Associations.

For further details and the full conference program, or to register online visit www.offshoreasiaevent.com.

The Energy, Environment and Green Technology (EEGT) Committee was created in order to provide members with informa­tion, as well as creating awareness con­cerning environmental matters and green/clean energy issues. The Committee func­tions as a forum and regular meetings are held, providing dialogue with opinion leaders and highly ranked government officials involved in environmental and energy policy making processes. The Committee hosted one of their final events of the year at G Tower, bringing attendees attention to the topic of energy efficiency.

The four speakers each presented a considered insight into different elements of energy efficiency and how it affects the ways that business can run and be operated, and what started off as a specialised forum became a lively Q&A debate.

Introduced and moderated by EEGT Deputy Head Ms. Marina Yong of Sustainability Momentum, who also gave a talk on the ISO 50001 Energy Management System, each of the speakers gave an interesting and relevant view of their

approach to the problem of energy efficiency in the workplace.

Dr Olaf Stange, Regional Leader Asia Pacific, Bayer Technology Services outlined the processes that have saved Bayer energy and money, using basic behavioral and operational adaptations. The talk given by Mr Martin Schmidt of Enerbon focused on energy monitoring automation and philosophy and Puan Hafiza Yob, Demand Side Management, Energy Management of the Energy Commission, gave a speech on behalf of Mr Francis Xavier who was unfortunately unable to attend the day’s event.

The EEGT Committee has a full calendar of events for 2012, for more information on upcoming events, visit the website: www.eumcci.com

Conference & Exhibition21 - 23 February 2012

KLCC Convention CenterKuala Lumpur, Malaysia

www.offshoreasiaevent.com

DEVELOPING ASIA’SENERGY RESOURCESThe annual Offshore Asia Conference & Exhibition remains the leading source of information on new technology and operating expertise for the Asia-Pacific region.

OPENING PLENARY – WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY – 9AM

Introduction: Mr. David Paganie, Director, Offshore Conferences, PennWell; Chief Editor, Offshore Magazine

Welcome Address: Representative, Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysia

Keynote Address: Chen Kah Seong, Head Petroleum Engineering Division, Petronas Development & Production

Upstream Outlook: Mr. Will Rowley, Group Analyst, Acteon Group

LNG Outlook: Mr. Atsunori Takeuchi, Chief Representative, Asia Pacific Regional Office, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.

Exhibition Opening Hours:Tuesday 21 February 13:00 - 18:30

Wednesday 22 February 10:30 - 18:00

Thursday 23 February 09:00 - 16:00

Discover and learn about the future for Asia’s offshore industryA unique audience of the world’s leading executives, managers and engineers from major and independent E&P companies focusing on the issues, challenges and technical solutions unique to the region

• A world-class technical conference program.

• An exhibition showcase of technology and capabilities to support improvements in E&P operations.

• Expert Opinions on the new issues, challenges, and solutions associated with the exploration and production activity across the entire region.

For further details and exhibits visit www.offshoreasieaevent.com

Don’t miss the great opportunities offered at Offshore Asia:

• see new developments / technology

• keep up to date with industry developments

• source new products and suppliers

Ensure you attend the annual gathering of offshore industry professionals

SUBSEA TECHNOLOGY TOPSIDESMULTIPHASE PUMPINGCONSTRUCTION INSTALLATIONDEEPWATER INTERVENTIONDECOMMISSIONINGFLOW LINES & PIPELINESRISK MANAGEMENTLNGFINANCE

Owned and Produced by: Presented by: Supported by: Supporting Organizations:Gold Sponsors:

States

0069_OA12_AD2_210x297.indd 1 05/01/2012 10:13

EUMCCI Review10

Chamber in Focus

Head of the Logistics Committee on....

The EUMCCI Logistics Survey

Late 2011 the Logistics Committee conducted the EUMCCI Logistics Survey, a questionnaire sent to logistics users throughout the country, to obtain market intelligence to help identify the major logistic nodal points in Malaysia and their key strengths. The survey forms the basis for an annual published logistics map of Malaysia, highlighting the status and developments of Malaysian logistics landscape.

Logistics is the backbone for a cost effective and efficient international trade. The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), implemented between 2013­2015 for logistics, provides next to a reduction/elimination of tariffs on intra­ASEAN trade

a free flow of goods among ASEAN mem­ber countries. As ASEAN opens the logis­tics markets, the competitive advantage of Malaysia’s logistics sector will be critical in attracting manufacturing and logistics players to its country. Evidence supports that Malaysia has an advanced road network infrastructure, high availability of general warehouse space and excellent sea and airports. However, according to the Head of EUMCCI Logistics Committee, Mr Marco Tieman, this static advantage is not enough as AFTA will require Malaysia to develop dynamic advantages through advanced third party and fourth party logistics solutions in selected niche areas, like in halal, oil & gas and palm oil. AFTA will bring competition from surrounding coun­tries with lower labour costs on the one hand and easier access to other logistics hubs like Singapore on the other hand. It is therefore important for the major logistics nodal points and logistics companies to strategise themselves for AFTA and strengthen their competitive advantage.

The logistics survey has received a good response rate enabling the Committee to form a comprehensive picture of the Malay­sian logistics marketplace, providing a good understanding of the individual strengths and also a subjective ranking based on the responses given by the survey participants. Mr Tiemen noted “as well as providing an insider view to European companies seeking to find the best location for their manufacturing interests, the survey and resulting map will also serve to generate an element of competition within logistics providers in Malaysia as the rankings will challenge them to beat their placement year on year.”

Mr Tieman confirmed that EUMCCI Logistics Survey will be an annual event, in

order to provide accurate and up­to­date intelligence on the logistics landscape. One facet of the EUMCCI is to facilitate business and trade between the EU and Malaysia and logistics play a significant role in this. Whilst Malaysia does have much to be proud of in the logistics arena, there are also areas that could be improved. Warehouse theft and hijacking of trucks are still a major concern for the industry and are being addressed by the relevant govern­ment authorities. As shown in Europe, under AFTA customs will become even more important for the competitive advantage of Malaysia’s logistics sector. The Malaysian Customs department recognizes this and is transforming itself from a pure regulator to a facilitator of trade.

The results of the Logistics Survey will be released in 2012 in the form of a Market Intelligence Report and the interactive EUMCCI Logistics Map. The Logistics Committee will also be providing EUMCCI Corporate Partners with opportunities throughout the year to visit Malaysia’s leading ports, industry players and attend workshops on various logistics topics. Green Logistics will also be a hot topic for the new year, as Mr Tieman explains “we will be taking last year’s Green Logistics Forum a step further and focusing on the specifics of city distribution and how goods can access Malaysia’s busy cities in a more sustainable way.” Drawing on the experience of experts from the EU, the Committee aims to highlight procedures and methods that will strengthen Malaysia’s competitive advantage within the region.

For more information on the Logistics survey visit http://services.eumcci.com/

Mr. Marco Tieman is Head of

the EUMCCI Logistics

Committee and CEO of LBB

Teams (M) Sdn Bhd. The

mission of the EUMCCI

Logistics Committee is to

promote, support and

develop logistics in Malaysia

and facilitate investment,

logistics and trade between

Malaysia and the EU.

“... an insider view to European companies seeking to find the best location for their manufacturing interests, the survey and resulting map will also serve to generate an element of competition within logistics providers in Malaysia...”

EUMCCI Review12

Chamber in Focus

The Czech Republic is a significant crossroad for European trade thanks to its first-class infrastructure. The transportation sector with more than 3710 enterprises is the biggest sector in the Czech economy. Today it is highly internationalized and is based on sharing knowledge and experience with foreign investors. The country is a hub of major transportation component producers. The Czech industry distinguishes itself with its stress on speed, cost efficiency, innovations, environmental sustainability and safety. The Czech Republic is a leading producer and as an open economy also an important exporter of transportation technologies including automotive, aerospace, railway, boats and transportation infrastructure. Moreover, Czech transportation experts have participated in prestigious R&D projects, internationally.

Czech automotive industryThe Czech Republic hosts one of the highest concentrations of automotive­related manufacturing and design activity in the world. Last year, annual production of passenger cars exceeded one million units for the first time. The Czech automotive industry employs more than 260,000 people and accounts for more than 20 % of the Czech manufacturing outputs and exports. The subsector is based on three carmakers, namely Škoda Auto (Volkswagen Group), Toyota Peugeot Citroën Automobile, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech and their well known multinational components suppliers. They utilize the potential of the local industrial tradition and highly skilled engineers for advanced R&D projects concentrated at Universities and private research centers. For example the famous Škoda Auto established a technology centre in Mladá Boleslav in 2008 that delivers R&D solutions for the entire Volkswagen Group.

The Czech automotive branch is marked by innovations driven by universities and SMEs. Available and listed for immediate

technology transfers are for example new technology of intelligent spray­painting frame for elimination of dust on railway & road vehicles, a new car­wheel suspension system for off­road vehicles etc.

The Czech automotive sector consists of more than just the passenger­car segment. Heavy­ and medium­duty trucks, buses and motorcycles are also manufactured in the Czech Republic. Heavy­duty trucks are manufactured mainly by the company Tatra, which is one of the world’s oldest vehicle manufacturers and has excellent reputation in Malaysia as well.

lack of imports, Russia’s influence spurred the implementation of new aviation projects and motivated Czech aerospace companies to establish their own development pro­jects. The Airspace sector was very well developed after the WW2 and after 1990, some designers and technicians left large aerospace companies to set up their own aviation businesses and produce clean and safe aircraft designs mostly for American market. These companies represent the future of Czech aircraft and new aircraft components development.

Currently, there have been 32,000 aircrafts and 37,000 engines delivered, there are 130 companies, 4 technical universities with the aerospace specialization, 10 secondary professional schools, 3 aero­space research centres and test institutes, 5 MRO providers and 10,000 employees.

Research at the Czech Technical University in Prague is linked to the US Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Defense and involves projects focused on, for example, multi­agent system technology supporting the free flight concept. The Czech Republic’s capabilities are valued by Honeywell Aerospace, which is expanding its Global Design Centre and aircraft production facilities in the Czech Republic.

ConclusionExcept for Tatra trucks and Škoda cars Malaysia has not yet explored the Czech menu for corporation in the transportation sector. Therefore the Malaysian transporta­tion industries are encouraged to discover the potential of the Czech Republic in this segment, to directly link up with their Czech counterparts, to exchange on regular basis business delegations, participate in the fairs, exhibitions, conferences and con­gresses and establish new multilevel per­sonal contacts which would lead to the most progressive forms of cooperation including technology transfers, licence agreements, joint ventures, joint research, expertise exchange, etc. Also big Malaysian investors are welcome to consider the opportunities offered by the incentives of the Czech Republic which were launched in 1998 and converted the country into a regional leader in terms of incoming FDI.

The Czech Transportation Industry – Opportunities for Czech-Malaysian Cooperation

The main trend in the automotive industry consists in a growing implementation of alternative fuels. Czech Republic has a historic tradition in electromobility, the first use of electric motors dates back to the 19th century. The current vehicles are being converted into electric driven and adequate infrastructure is being built up.

The modern history of the Czech auto­motive industry boasts not only production successes but also outstanding results in the field of automotive R&D:

AerospaceThere is a considerable aerospace heritage in the Czech Republic. Numerous aircrafts tests were performed and today’s Czech Republic has an extensive knowledge in this area and a strong aerospace culture. Because of the absence of the sea, the Czech people in the past began to look to the sky. In the 1930s, the number of Czech aviation firms and people employed by them reached the level of that found in the most advanced countries of that time. Later, in the 1950s and ‘60s because of the

EUMCCI Review 13

Chamber in Focus

Qatar Airways Expands in 2012

EUMCCI Platinum Sponsor, Qatar Airways, the only Middle Eastern airline to be given a 5-star ranking, will introduce a number of new routes and frequency increases across its network as part of its aggressive expansion strategy for 2012. 2011 was a remarkable year for the airline, launching 15 new routes worldwide; including the launch in December of thrice-weekly flights to Chongqing, China.

Named Airline of the Year 2011 in the annual Skytrax survey, the airline plans to increase its global reach even further from next year, targeting key business markets, holiday hotspots and underserved cities around the world.

During 2012, new routes set to join its growing network include Baku (Azerbaijan), Tbilisi (Georgia), Helsinki (Finland), Zagreb (Croatia), Perth (Australia), Mombasa (Kenya), Zanzibar (Tanzania), Kigali (Rwanda) and Gassim (Saudi Arabia).

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said a surge in international passenger demand from Asia and the Middle East as well as additional aircraft

joining the fleet prompted the frequency increases across the network.

Qatar Airways now operates 14 flights a week to Kuala Lumpur, connecting the Malaysian capital to Doha twice a day. One of the airline’s most popular and oldest routes in South East Asia, the airline’s Kuala Lumpur route has continually grown since the airline launched services in 2001.

The increased services connect business leaders from the Middle East keen to expand trade in Malaysia and will also provide leisure and business travelers in Malaysia with seamless connections to exotic locations in Europe and South America that were harder to access like Nice and Sao Paulo.

With daily, non-stop flights from Doha to Sao Paulo, Malaysian sports fans will be able to enjoy convenient, non-stop links from Doha to the next FIFA World Cup being staged in Brazil in 2014.

While transiting at Doha International Airport, Business Class passengers can experience the world’s first dedicated passenger terminal for First and Business Class passengers. The Premium Terminal

offers dedicated First and Business Class check-in desks to the respective lounges, concierge meet and greet services for passengers prior to check-in, a spa, Jacuzzi and sauna for passengers to unwind before their flight, massage treatment rooms, shower and wash rooms, meeting venues, a 24-hour medical centre, duty free shopping area, to name but a few services on offer.

By 2013, Qatar Airways plans to serve 120 key business and leisure destinations worldwide with a modern fleet of 120 aircraft.

Qatar Airways has orders worth over US$ 50 billion for more than 250 aircraft, including Boeing 787s, 777s, Airbus A350s, A380s and A320 family of aircraft. The rapid expansion of Qatar Airways prompted the State of Qatar to embark on one of its biggest projects – the con-struction of a brand new international air-port in Doha, which is scheduled to open in this year.

For more information and flight booking, call Qatar Airways at +603-2118 6100 or visit www.qatarairways.com/my

Qatar Airways’ Airbus A320 – in flight

EUMCCI Review14

Chamber in Focus

The MYEULINK Project, funded by the European Union (EU), is pleased to announce its participation at the FACON Higher Education Fair on 17 and 18 March in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Representatives from German, French, Irish, Spanish, Romanian and British universities will promote study­opportunities from a dedicated EU Pavilion, located in Hall 4. Potential students will have the chance to learn about various scholarship opportunities, such as the Erasmus Mundus programme.

MYEULINKEuropean Higher Education Fair 17­18 March 2012, KLCC

Malaysia­Europe Higher Education Conference, 16­17 March 2012, KLCCTransnational Education ­ Opportunities and Challenges in the 21st century: Malaysian and European perspectives

The conference, hosted with the support of the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education, will address three key themes in the current transnational education debate: regional cooperation, research collaboration and mobility. The conference will feature speakers from Europe and Malaysia and will focus on the lessons from Europe addressing key issues of concern; the development of the Bologna process and its implications as well as funding and research collaborations within the EU

funding projects. The invited European speakers will present alongside two distinguished speakers from Malaysia, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Higher Education Y.Bhg.Prof.Dr. Morshidi Bin Sirat and Vice Chancellor, Y.Bhg. Professor Tan Sri Dato’ Dzulkifli Abdul Razak.

For further information for interested exhibitors or participants, please contact Ms Olivia Draeger, email: olivia.draeger@nottingham.edu.my, phone: (03) 8924 8031 or visit the website: www.myeulink.org/MYEULINKFair

As part of the Chamber’s mission of building bridges between EU and Malaysia, we will be undertaking two trade missions this year, first to the Czech Republic and Poland, and then to Estonia and Finland.

The trade missions are another way for the Chamber to provide our EUMCCI Corporate Partners, local Malaysian stakeholders, associations and companies the chance for capacity building, to observe and learn

EUMCCI to conduct Trade Missions to Europe in 2012

standards and policies and create new business opportunities.

The missions will be focused on project sectors, the first visit to the Czech Republic and Poland concentrating on green technology and the second mission to Finland and Estonia focusing on ICT, innovation society and clean technology cluster.

The missions will take place in April and June 2012 and the Chamber’s objectives are to promote the focus area sectors and relevant initiatives to facilitate economic and trade cooperation, as well as widening the knowledge of local stakeholders on best practices, standards from Europe.

With great interest from EU countries such as the Czech Republic in Malaysia for events like IGEM and specific industry sectors such as automotive, green technology and ICT, Poland which has an interesting green technology accelerator project GREENEVO, for environmentally sound solutions and technologies and Finland which is prime example of public private partnership and world’s top cleancluster and innovation society, these trade missions are a great opportunity for Malaysian companies to make valuable contacts within Europe for future business opportunities and investment.

For more information or if you would be interested in taking part in the mission in either April or June, please contact Ms Jacqueline Chang, Project Manager: jacqueline@eumcci.com

EUMCCI Review16

Chamber in Focus

Committee Message Board:

Automotive Committee: Inaugural Meeting

The inaugural meeting of the EUMCCI Automotive Committee will be held 2nd February, with attendees from the major EU and Malaysian car manufacturers and distributors in attendance.

If you would like to find out more about this new Committee please contact Ms Ai Li Ch’ng Koch at ailikoch@eumcci.com

Defense & Security: New Committee Head

Mr Krzysztof Splawiec has been voted in as the new Head of Committee, following the resignation of Mr Juan Carlos. Mr Krzysztof Splawiec, (Head of Bumar SP.zo.o. Regional Office), is supported in the Defense and Security Committee by Deputies Mr Andrin Raj and Mr Alberto Ciaramicoli.

Education Committee: Visit from Winchester University

The first Education Committee meeting of 2012 saw a visit from Professor Christopher Turner, Pro Vice Chancellor of Winchester University in the UK to talk to the Committee about the potential for collaborations between institutions. The Committee also made plans for events further in the year.

Logistics Committee: New Deputy Head Named

En. Kamarul Azman (DHL) was appointed Deputy Head of the Logistics Committee in December 2011.

EEGT Committee: Committee Elections Held

Committee elections were held in December 2011 with no changes. Mr Thomas Brandt, Ms Marina Yong and Mr Rozman Hamzah remain Head of Committee and Deputy Heads respectively.

HR Committee: Committee Elections Held

Committee elections were held in December 2011, but resulted in no changes in the structure of the Committee, with Ms. Chan Swee Hwa remaining as Head of Committee, with Mr R. Ravindra Kumar as Deputy and Ms. Chan Swee Hwa, Mr Gopal Nair and Mr CF Lee as Heads of the Lobbying, Resource and Networking Sub­Committees respectively.

Oil & Gas Committee: New Head of Committee

Instated

Mr Fermin Fautsch was nominated Head of the Oil & Gas Committee at the end of 2011, following the resignation of Mr Robert Jaimond. Mr Fautsch (CEO of Logica) is supported in the Oil & Gas Committee by Mr Luis Ochoa who remains as Committee Deputy Head.

The OffShore Asia Conference will be held at KLCC, Feburary 21­23 2012. EUMCCI Corporate Partners qualify for a 20% discount on the Conference entry fee. Visit http://www.offshoreasiaevent.com/index/registration­information.html for more information and make sure to select EUMCCI under Associations when registering.

EUMCCI Corporate Partners Enjoy Special Benefits on

QATAR AIRWAYSGreat savings on all Qatar Airways

European/USA/South America destinations through authorized

agents.

For more details please contact the authorized travel agent:

Diethelm Travel Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.• ForTicketing Email tkt@diethelmtravel.com.my Phone 03-2715 7878 PIC 8 consultants at service

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210X297 TACTICAL230811.pdf 1 8/23/11 12:14 PM

EUMCCI Review18

Events

perspectives on Malaysia’s Budget for 2012 as well as its implications for the business community. The Panel Discussion was chaired by Dr. Sukudhew (Sukhdave) Singh, Assistant Governor, Bank Negara Malaysia and provided an opportunity to raise issues and debate them amongst prominent speakers such as Mr Rajiv Biswas, Asia­Pacific Chief Economist, IHS Global Insight,

Dr. Yeah Kim Leng, Group Chief Economist, RAM Holdings Berhad and Professor Saadiah Mohamad, Head of Centre for Economics, Ethnicity and Gender, Institute of Business Excellence, Universiti teknologi MARA. The experts discussed the possibilities of accelerated private investments and pertinent issues

EU­Malaysia Chamber of Commerce & Industry (EUMCCI) recently hosted the Quarterly Economic Panel Discussion entitled “Exploring Trade Corridors Beyond 2012”. This Quarterly Roundtable brought together European and ASEAN leaders, bankers, CEOs, finance experts, and government officials to promote business­to­business dialogues and recommend policies to enhance trade and investment relations between Europe and

Quarterly Economic Panel Discussion 2012 –

Exploring Trade Corridors Beyond 2012account all needs of all segments of society, with eyes cast towards 2020. The over arching guidance for this year’s budget is the national transformation policy”. While there were voices of concern regarding the implementation and outcome of the ETP, Husni said, the government was geared towards improving the lives of the people.

This was followed by a highlight session delivered by Mr Michael Greenall, Head of Malaysia & Singapore Research, Strategy,

Conglomerate, Asian Plantations,

and grains signifi cantly in the last two years. He also addressed how high prices have caused food inflation scares and how the delegates should be prepared for high soft commodities prices.

The dialogue ended with a panel of high­level speakers to analyse and unveil in­depth

“Congratulations to EUMCCI for an excellent event.”

Michael Oh Hong Choon, Director, Pan Malaysia Capital Berhad

“It was a very interesting event and fruitful discussions. Thanks again”

Eckart Koerner, Executive Director, KPMG

“Excellent – well organized and very interesting”

Holly Smith, Business Development Executive, BAE Systems

“Mr Rajiv Biswas – very structured and informative.”

Michelle Ann Iking, Human Resource Manager, Citibank Berhad

Malaysia. This particular dialogue was held post publication of the Budget 2012 and announcement by the Honourable Prime Minister Y.A.B. Dato’ Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak on Thursday, 20th October 2011.

It commenced with a keynote address by Y.B. Dato’ Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah, Minister of Finance II on the pertinent features and impacts for the international and local business community post­Budget 2012. The Economic Trans­formation Plan is monitored meticulously by the implementation and coordination unit of the Prime Minister’s Department and the Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah said during his keynote speech that:

“The unit is required to report fortnightly to the prime minister... The budget took into

ASEAN Gaming, BNP Paribas, Malaysia on the soft commodities markets. He addressed the palm oil’s significance in the future of food supply and the La Nina and El Nino weather phenomena which have plagued production of edible oils, oil seeds

“It is a good seminar and should be held frequently”

Mr Azman Bin Sa’ar, Assistant Vice President, Bank Simpanan Nasional

regarding the accelerated growth in various areas of the economy, including key incentives available to boost innovation and entrepreneurship and making investing more attractive for companies.

The 107 delegates who attended this dialogue had an opportunity to exchange viewpoints with industry experts and business leaders throughout the event. We

Y.B. Dato’ Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah, Minister of Finance II, H.E. Vincent Piket, EU Ambassador and Head of EU Delegation and Ms. Minna Saneri, EUMCCI General Manager.

Minister of Finance II giving his keynote speech

Thursday 20th October 2011

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Events

“You have good time management. Thanks”

Dr. Marie Aimée Tourres, Senior Research Fellow, University Malaya

“Generally the event is well organized and the speakers excellent”

Ms Nirmala Ramoo - Senior Manager - Events & Communications, CPA Australia

would like to record our special thanks to our Strategic Partner, Asian Institute of Finance, our Supporting Organization – CPA Australia and to our Programme Sponsor – BNP Paribas for making this dialogue a successful one.

The next Quarterly Financial Panel Discussion 2012 is aimed for 8 March 2012 and is entitled “Islamic Finance – The New Frontier of Financing for MNCs”. Featuring guest speakers from Europe, Dubai and Asia Pacific these issues will be addressed again from a truly global perspective. For further information on the next quarterly dialogue, please contact Ms Jacqueline Chang, Policy and Project Manager, EU Services Sector Projects at jacqueline@eumcci.com or Ms Geetha

Veerasamy at events@eumcci.com. The Asian Institute of Finance will be again participating as our Strategic Partner and our Lead Media Partner is the REDMoney Group, a publishing and events company focusing purely on the global Islamic Finance market. The company established in 2004 in Kuala Lumpur initially rolled out two products: Islamic Finance Training and Islamic Finance News. Since then a range of other products has been introduced

including conferences, print media and consulting.

For more information on the Quarterly Economic Panel Discussion series, please visit www.eumcci.com

EUMCCI and MDeC in Penang

In December 2011, MDeC went on the road with EUMCCI to Penang to highlight the benefits of acquiring MSC status and utilising the shared services available in Malaysia to MNCs.

MDeC is committed to driving MSC Malaysia (formerly known as the Multimedia Super Corridor in Malaysia) by empowering businesses and connecting communities through ICT and also to facilitating Malaysia’s goal of becoming the preferred location for ICT and multimedia innovations, operations and services.

This was the topic of discussion at both the Hi­Tea and Breakfast talks held at the Equitorial Hotel, Penang. To a brand new audience, MDeC representatives, with help from companies AMD and Seagate, outlined the work that is already happening

in Malaysia in the shared services sector and the successes that have come from it.

Companies such as Shell, BMW, Astrazeneca, DHL, IBM and BMP have already established their shared services in

Malaysia. With initiatives such as the MSC Cloud Initiative making it easier for the adaptation of Cloud based services and increasing the capacity for worldwide service, MDeC is committed to making the transition for companies who adopt MSC status as easy as possible.

MDeC aims to catalyse and nurture local companies and SMEs to become global players by forging successful partnerships between Malaysian and international companies, and realize the promise of mutual enrichment by making easy and cost effective for companies to do business MSC Malaysia.

For more information on MDeC, MSC status and shared services, please visit www.mdec.my

Thursday, Friday 1st­2nd December 2011

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Events

technologies, as R&D spending merely totaled EUR3.8 billion in 2009. An area with investment potential is biomass energy generation, where larger international actors have significant room to push local interest through local R&D investments.

The platform dialogue segment of the event offered sector specific suggestions inclu­ding recommendations on how to address issues in Renewable Energy, Energy Effi­ciency, Green Building as well as Water and Waste. Issues related to the quota alloca­tion of the FiT scheme, with reference to the balance between solar photovoltaic and biomass projects, the need for predictable gas prices and capacity building and human skill development in all sectors of the green technology economy. As such, the 2011 Green Technology Business Platform provided an excellent opportunity for exchanging views on how the Malaysian sector could move forward into 2012.

More information on this event is available at www.eumcci.com

EU Malaysia Green Technology Business Platform 2011

H.E. Vincent Piket, EU Ambassador and Head of EU Delegation, YB Dato’ Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui, Minister for Energy, Green Technology & Water and EUMCCI Chairman, Mr David Jones.

20th December 2011 saw the EU­Malaysia Chamber of Commerce (EUMCCI) together with the EU Delegation to Malaysia and Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water jointly hosting the 2nd EU Malaysia Green Technology Business Platform. Highlighting the importance of green tech­nology in Malaysia and the transformation towards green economic growth, dignitaries officiating this event included the Minister for Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA), YB Dato’ Seri Peter Chin Fah

Kui, the Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Malaysia, H.E. Vincent Piket as well as repre sentatives from KeTTHA, MITI, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Energy Commission, TNB and the Economic Planning Unit.

The Green Technology Business Platform is an initiative aimed at providing private sector policy input on issues ranging from the overall thrust of the EU­Malaysia stra­tegic partnership, to sector specific sug­gestions on how to create an environment conducive to transfer of­ and investment in green techno logy. In his opening address, the Chairman of EUMCCI, Mr David Jones highlighted the scope for EU­Malaysian cooperation in green technology, as well as the ability of EU actors to contribute with technological expertise and best practices

to the green policy dialogue.

Following the opening address, the Ambassador and Head of the EU Dele­gation to Malaysia, H.E. Vincent Piket lauded Malaysia’s active collaboration with the EU in the green technology field for the past three years. “The EU and EU firms are world leaders if it comes to tackling climate change and green business. But, while we lead, we do not want to stand on our own. We want to engage with Malaysia and other

emerging econo mies, to support your climate actions and technological develop­ment. And we want to promote green business dynamics, as green growth means new investment and job creation.”

After H.E. Vincent Piket’s speech, the Minister for Energy, Green Technology and Water, Malaysia, YB Dato’ Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui spoke of the importance of conti­nued improvements to green technology business platform for the mutual benefit of Malaysian and EU stakeholders. Further, the Minister pointed to the great oppor­tunities present to leverage EU­Malaysian linkages through technology cooperation in development of renewable energy under the framework of the newly introduced Feed in Tariff (FiT) scheme. Finally, YB Dato’ Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui stressed the need to promote Malaysian Research and Development (R&D) for the benefit of green

“The EU and EU firms are world leaders if it comes to tackling climate change and green business. But, while we lead, we do not want to stand on our own.”

Green Technology Business Platform 2011 attendees.

Tuesday 20th December 2011

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Events

Recent Activities:

2nd November 2011Energy Efficiency Workshop

1st December 2011, PenangExploring New Opportunities­ EUMCCI MDeC Hi­Tea

2nd December 2011, PenangExploring New Opportunities­ EUMCCI MDeC Breakfast Networking

20th December 2011EU Malaysia Green Technology Business Platform 2011

EUMCCI Events:

Upcoming Events:

22nd February 2012VIP Luncheon with H.E. Vincent Piket, EU Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation

29th February 2012Europa Awards Gala Dinner

8th March 2012EUMCCI Quarterly Financial Panel Discussion ­ Islamic Finance: The New Frontier of Financing for MNCs

26th April 2012EUMCCI Trade and Investment Forum

Despite the rain, the EUMCCI Corporate Partner Appreciation Evening held at the Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur, on 15th December was a great success. With many of our Corporate Partners and Heads and Deputy Heads of Committees in attendance it was a perfect opportunity to thank those who have shown great loyalty and participation over the years with a presentation of a token of the Chamber’s appreciation and a lucky draw open to all attendees.

EUMCCI Chairman Mr David Jones gave a short presentation outlining the changes that have taken place in the Chamber over the past year and the great successes that have been made – events such as The Tastes of Europe Fest, the Trade and

Investment Forum and the Quarterly Economic Panel Discussion all made the national press this year, raising the profile of the Chamber.

A short presentation by MDeC highlighting the many oppo­rtunities available to cor­porations that choose to adopt MSC status was well received, as was the following lucky draw. With prizes generously donated by the Hotel Istana, Crowne Plaza Mutiara Kuala Lumpur, Melia Kuala Lumpur and the Penang Island Beach Resort, the winners of these great prizes certainly received an early Christmas present!

EUMCCI Corporate Partner Appreciation Evening

EUMCCI Chairman Mr David JonesEUMCCI Five Year Corporate Partners

Diethelm Travel Malaysia Sdn BhdFrangipani Hotel & Resorts Sdn BhdMalayan Banking BerhadSkrineRaslan LoongSherne DelamoreNordin­Jones Solutions Sdn BhdPort Klang Free Zone Sdn BhdRaja, Darryl & LohGrand Millenium Kuala LumpurNovozymesRentwiseRhombus CastorsWong Jin Nee & TeoUpecaBohlasia Steels

Thursday 15th December 2011

EUMCCI Review22

Upcoming Events

Europa Awards are Coming!29th February 2012

Europe and Malaysia both have a history of creativity and innovation – providing many additions to modern life and business that have made doing business easier, faster and with more success than before. Malaysia has the most established and biggest susuk market and is on the cutting edge of Islamic financing, developing new products and new guidelines to assure further growth. Europe is well known for its research and development of green technology and innovation in the fields of science.

Now in its fourth edition, the Europa Awards have grown in stature as well as size, with both EU and Malaysian compa­nies taking a more serious look at what it means to be nominated and win the award. With the keynote speaker MITI Minister Datuk Sri Mustapha Mohamed confirmed the night promises to be both informative, entertaining and not to be missed!

This year the awards will be focusing on the larger corporations, and rewarding longevity and continued success in business, especially given the tough times in the economy both in Europe and to a lesser extent, in Asia.

The winners in 2010 were recognized for their contributions in terms of green technology, sustainability and human resources, this year the awards on offer will be those for Excellence in business in Malaysia, Excellence in business in Europe, and Longest and Most Successful in Malaysia.

The Europa Award Gala Dinner is an event in itself – last year saw a Spanish feast and this year promises to deliver a wealth of culture and entertainment, reflecting a creative combination of both European and Malaysian sensibilities. Tickets are on sale now, and with entertainment including an

innovative Green Fashion Show and 2 musical performance, are sure to go quickly. Make sure your company doesn’t miss out and buy a table now.

The AwardsIn the case of all three of the following awards categories, ‘Innovative Business Strategies and Practices’ will account for 30% of the overall evaluation weightings and creativity and innovation in business practices will be elements that the judging panel will use as part of the criteria that each nomination is assessed on.

The Award categories are as follows:

A. Highest Excellence - Trade/Investment into EU by Malaysian Investor

This Award is given to a Malaysian member company (headquartered/originated in Malaysia) investing/trading into the EU who has shown exemplary business excellence.

Judging will be based on the past 12 months as per the fiscal year.

B. Highest Excellence - Trade/Investment into Malaysia by European Investor

This Award is given to a European member company (headquartered/originated in Europe) investing/trading into Malaysia who has shown exemplary business excellence.

Judging will be based on the past 12 months as per the fiscal year.

C. Long Term Excellence in EU – Malaysian Trade/Investment

This Award is to recognise the EUMCCI member company who has shown exemplary business excellence for the past 3 years.

The company should have a business presence in Malaysia for at least 10 years.

To buy tickets contact events@eumcci.com or call +603 2162 6298

Recipients of Europa Awards 2010: Mr Lincoln Lee of Leurenz Leistung, Mr Bart Veenbaas of AQ Services and Mr Anthony Wong of Frangipani Langkawi Resort and Spa

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Upcoming Events

Tastes of Europe Fest 2012 16th-18th May 2012

16th­18th May 2012

The EU – Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EUMCCI), together with the European Bilateral Chambers of Com­merce, Business Councils and Embassies, will once again collaborate to organize the ever popular Tastes of Europe Fest.

Following the rebranding of last year’s event and the success that the more inclusive name generated, the Fest is set to move beyond a focus on wine, beer and cheese and to encompass a host of products that are produced by European suppliers. The more inclusive “Tastes of Europe” means that participants can now indulge in many more aspects of European dining culture and gastronomy especially as in 2012 the list of workshops is even more enticing than last year!

A great hit for the last two years, The Coffee Appreciation workshop led by Illy will be returning in 2012. Held at their Universita del Caffe della Melesia, Illy instructors are on hand to take attendees from being coffee enthusiasts to coffee connoisseurs

by providing a hands on education on coffee theory, cultivation, transformation and production. The workshop is an introductory version of the full course that is offered by the Illy School of Coffee. Two new workshops will also be introduced this year – an Ouzo Appreciation workshop run by the Hellenic Society, celebrating the subtleties of this Greek spirit and also a Pasta Cooking workshop to share the secrets of most the most of this Italian staple.

“Tastes of Europe” means that participants can now indulge in many more aspects of European dining culture and gastronomy especially as in 2012 the list of workshops is even more enticing than last year!

The main event itself continues to grow and attract large crowds from the general public, to diplomatic, European and local corporate guests. Last year’s Tastes of Europe Fest held on 27th May 2011, at the Intercontinental KL featured 27 different exhibitors showcasing a wide variety of wine, beer, cheese, gourmet foods and other products from Europe and was host to over 500 guests on the night.

This year another new addition to the Taste of Europe event will be the location – whilst the InterContinental KL will very ably host the event in Kuala Lumpur, Tastes of Europe Fest 2012 will be going on the road, and making a stop in Penang!

The Fest will continue to provide importers of European products related to the Food & Beverage industry an opportunity to showcase their products and initiate, or improve their contacts with European and local guests. Of equal important is their ability to meet F&B Directors and Managers of Kuala Lumpur and Penang area hotels and restaurants. This Fest is an excellent opportunity to network and get acquainted with products of fine delicacies that bring forth the richness in cuisine and culture that could only be European.

For more information on becoming an exhibitor contact events@eumcci.com

Mr Ish Jalal, Country Manager, Qatar Airways, Mr David Jones, EUMCCI Chairman and Taste of Europe Fest 2011 lucky draw winner.

EUMCCI Review24

EU & Malaysia News

Croatia Signs EU Accession Treaty

In December the Treaty of Accession with Croatia was signed at a special ceremony held in Brussels, in the margins of the European Council. The signing of the Treaty of Accession paves the way for the ratifica­tion procedures that will allow Croatia to become the 28th member of the European Union on 1 July 2013.

The negotiations and preparations of Croatia’s entry into the European Union have taken a circuitous route, with the long process for accession being launched by the European Council in Brussels in June 2004. Since 2004, considerable efforts

have been made by Croatia to bring its laws, regulatory frameworks and adminis­trative practices into line with those of the European Union and on the part of the EU, the considerable task of drafting the Treaty of Accession in each of the 24 Treaty languages was finalised in November 2011 and was signed by Heads of State or Government of the 27 Member States and by the President of Croatia, Ivo Josipovic, and the Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor.

With the signature of the Treaty on 9th December 2011, Croatia must now focus on its final preparations for membership and strengthen its efforts in order to become a full member of the EU on 1 July 2013. Croatia will participate as an active observer in the work of the Council and its preparatory bodies in preparation for full inclusion in the EU and as it already partici­pates in the following of the EU Pro­grammes:

Euro Plus Pact

at constitutional or equivalent level. The rule will contain an automatic correction mechanism that shall be triggered in the event of deviation. It will be defined by each Member State on the basis of principles proposed by the Commission. The Member States recognise the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice to verify the transposition of this rule at national level.

• The European Union is committed toworking towards a common economic policy. A procedure will be established to ensure that all major economic policy reforms planned by euro area Member States will be discussed and coordinated at the level of the euro area, with a view to benchmarking best practices.

Whilst the UK has chosen to opt out of this agreement (known as the Euro Plus Pact), using its veto when the compact was voted on at the summit in December, the rest of Europe is forging ahead to move closer together and strengthen the EuroZone by truly making the Euro one currency, with all the regulatory fiscal coordination that this implies.

These measures were seen to be those with the most potential to boost growth and this will be monitored by Member States and assessed at the Spring European Council in March 2012.

For more information, please visit the EU website, EUROPA www.europa.eu

• Seventh Research Framework Pro-gramme

• CompetitivenessandInnovationFrame-work Programme’ (including ‘Entrepre­neurship and Innovation Pro gramme’, ‘Information Communication Technolo­gies Policy Support Programme’ and ‘Intelligent Energy Europe Pro gramme’)

• Progress• Culture• EuropeforCitizens• Fiscalis2013• Customs2013• CivilProtectionFinancialInstrument• MEDIA2007• Communityactioninthefieldofhealth• MarcoPoloII• CivilProtectionMechanism• LifeLongLearning,YouthinAction• ISA - Programme on Interoperable

Solutions for Public Administrations.

Sources: http://europa.eu

... Europe is forging ahead to move closer together and strengthen the EuroZone by truly making the Euro one currency, with all the regulatory fiscal coordination that this implies.

The European Council met on the 8th and 9th December 2011, to discuss issue related to the governance of the EU. A prominent topic was the financial situation and the stability of the single currency and the summit resulted in an agreement by the majority of EU countries to move forward towards a stronger economic union. To this end the EU has agreed to work towards a new fiscal compact and strengthened economic policy coordination, and the development of EU stabilisation tools to face short term challenges.

Whilst the intricacies of the new agreement are many, the main elements of the new fiscal rule introduced are as follows:

• General government budgets shall bebalanced or in surplus; this principle shall be deemed respected if, as a rule, the annual structural deficit does not exceed 0.5% of nominal GDP.

• Such a rule will also be introduced inMember States’ national legal systems EU country heads at EU Council Meeting

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EUMCCI Review 25

EU & Malaysia News

The Durban Climate Change Conference

The latest round of United Nations climate change talks, held in December ended in what many are calling success, resulting in an agreement that has come to be known as the Durban Platform. The talks overran by a day and a half as the delegates battled to come to an agreement that would ensure that the last year of discussions between the 194 countries involved would not go to waste.

The EU had come to the talks in Durban, South Africa, calling for a mandate to nego­tiate a new legally binding treaty on global warming by 2015, covering all major emit­ters, in return for the bloc signing up to a second period of emissions cuts under the existing Kyoto climate deal. The EU repre­sentative Connie Hedegarrd, the EU Climate Change Commissioner was pre­pare to off developing countries an agreement that they had sought for many years – a continuation of the Kyoto proto­col, the only treaty that commits rich coun­tries to cut greenhouse gases, in return for

“emissions gap” between the voluntary emissions cuts countries have already pledged and the reductions experts say are needed to effectively tackle climate change.

The key differences between Kyoto and Durban are:• there will now be a common legal

framework for developed and developing countries;

• theUS,Chinaand Indiaareonboard;and

• Kyoto included legally binding com-mitments – Durban only has an agree­ment to agree on such commitments.

Starting in the first half of 2012, the Durban Platform Working Group will plan its work

on matters such as mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology development and transfer, transparency of action, and support and capacity­building.

The EU was one, amongst others, prepared to take on a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol commencing from 2013 which appeared critical in getting agreement from China and India to the Durban Platform.

Other outcomes included agreement on:• improvedtransparencyandbetter

monitoring, reporting and verification of countries’ emissions reduction actions;

• anewGreenClimateFundtohelpdeveloping countries reduce emissions and adapt to climate change;

• anAdaptationCommitteetohelpdeveloping countries adapt to the impacts of climate change; and

• rulesforanewtechnologymechanismto speed up transfer of low pollution technologies to developing countries.

The next key date is 28 February 2012, when parties must submit their views on raising what the conference called the “level of ambition” to achieve significant mitiga tion, so that a workplan can be launched.

For more information, please visit the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change website http://unfccc.int

Connie Hedegarrd, EU Climate Change Commissioner and South Africa Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane

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The treaty will be negotiated by 2015 and coming into force from 2020. The deal also paves the way for action to address the “emissions gap” between the voluntary emissions cuts countries have already pledged and the reductions experts say are needed to effectively tackle climate change.

tries to negotiating a protocol, another legal instrument or an “agreed outcome with legal force”.

Malaysia was amongst a few of the ASEAN countries who initially pushed back against the agreement, but who eventually ceded to the agreement that was finally presented.

The treaty will be negotiated by 2015 and coming into force from 2020. The deal also paves the way for action to address the

commitment to a legally binding agreement for 2020.

This however was argued against by India and China, as both countries objected to the idea of being bound legally to a roadmap that was yet to be written. In order to resolve the disparity in expecta­tions, the EU and India were encouraged by the president of the talks, South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana­Mashabane, to hold a conversation of their own to agree to wording that both parties would be happy with.

The agreement was eventually made with a compromise, suggested by the Brazilian delegation, and saw the EU and Indians agree to a road map which commits coun­

EUMCCI Review26

EU Countries in Focus

Italy

Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi stepped down at the end of 2011 and an interim Prime Minister, Mario Monti took office on 16th November 2011. Mr. Monti is an academic economist and former European Commissioner who was installed as a technocratic leader to guide Italy through the current economic crisis, but recent reports have seen the new Italian Prime Minister feeling that the austerity efforts being made by Italy are not being appreciated by the wider economic community – a feel that was perhaps justified in January 2012 as Italy along with 8 other EU countries, including France had the i r rat ings downgraded by rating agency Standard and Poor’s.

Mr. Monti will be meeting with EU country heads, including the Prime Minister of the UK, David Cameron, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy prior to the EU leaders’ summit in Brussels on 30th January 2012 and will be outlining the cuts made by Italy in the interim since the last meeting of the EU leaders in October 2011.

Italy has a diversified industrial economy, which is divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less­developed, agricultural south.

Joining the European Economic and Monetary Union in 1999, Italy has been at the forefront of political unification in Europe. In the last year however, Italy has been one of the EU countries hit by the economic downturn and is struggling to find its feet, despite a change of government and a raft of austerity measures.

on its finances. So far however, this is a measure that the ECB have resisted.

Italy and Malaysia

Embassy of Italy in Malaysia http://www.italy­embassy.org.my/

Italian Malaysian Business Association (IMBA)http://www.imba.org.my/index.php/en/Italian Ambassador to Malaysia:Folco de Luca Gabrielli

For more information on Trade in Italy visit: http://www.italtrade.com/about/about_us.htm

Driven largely by the manufacture of high­quality consumer goods produced by small and medium­sized enterprises, many of them family owned, Italy also has a sizable underground economy, which by some estimates accounts for as much as 15% of GDP. These activities are most common within the agriculture, construction, and service sectors.

The international financial crisis has acerbated the problems in Italy’s labor market, with unemployment rising from

6.2% in 2007 to 8.4% in 2010, and the level of public debt remains one of the country’s biggest problems. Economists have argued for the European Central Bank to help Italy by buying its government bonds on the open market in larger quantities in the hope that this would lower Italy’s borrowing rates and ease pressure

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso

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EUMCCI Review 27

EU Countries in Focus

Denmark - EU Council Presidency

The EU Council Presidency rotates between all EU member states and in the first six months of 2012, Denmark will organize and lead the work of the Council of Ministers. The Presidency will be a major task for the Danish government and for Denmark in general.

Since Denmark last held the Presidency the Lisbon Treaty has come into force and the institutional financial and to a lesser extent, political landscape of the EU has changed.

The Lisbon Treaty has established new institutional actors, namely the permanent President of the European Council (Herman Van Rompuy from Belgium) and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (Catherine Ashton from the UK). While Van Rompuy leads the work in the European Council and Ashton organizes the work of EU foreign policy in the Foreign Affairs Council, Denmark will be in charge of all other policy areas and will work closely with Van Rompuy and Ashton.

Denmark is now a part of the so­called trio presidency where three presidencies work together to ensure a higher degree of coordination and consistency. Denmark joins a trio with Poland (who currently holds the Presidency) and Cyprus (who will hold the Presidency in the latter half of 2012). These three member states have agreed on a common trio program for the 18 months of their tenure, that should rather be seen as an overarching common framework for work of the three Presidencies in tandem

with the established EU national pro­grammes.

The four priorities that have been set out by the Danish Government for the EU Presidency are:• AresponsibleEurope• AdynamicEurope• AgreenEurope• AsafeEurope

The Danish Minister for European Affairs, Nicolai Wammen has said that more responsibility and initiative is needed in Europe, “We must promote initiatives that can generate a more dynamic Europe. We are experiencing competition from other parts of the World for Europe’s lead position in promoting the environmental area and we must therefore advance the green agenda in Europe.”

With regards to the current problems facing the EU, the Minister for European Affairs said:”The European Cohesion policy is a major and important subject for the Danish Presidency. The Cohesion policy must be

Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation participating in the general political and economic integration of Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and what became the EU in 1973. Since becoming a part of the EU Denamark has held the Presidency 6 times and 2012 will mark the 7th occasion that this Nordic country heads up the Council of the European Union.

modified, so that it can better contribute to creating jobs and growth in the whole of Europe. During our Presidency we want to promote this agenda as much as possible.”

The Presidency Programme for the Danish EU Presidency will be presented by the Prime Minister, Helle Thorning­Schmidt, in connection with the beginning of the Presidency in January.

Denmark and Malaysia:

Embassy of Denmark in Malaysia: http://www.ambkualalumpur.um.dk/en

Malaysian­Danish Business Council: http://www.ambkualalumpur.um.dk/en/menu/CommercialServices/MalaysianDanishBusinessCouncil/

Danish Ambassador to Malaysia: HE Svend Wæver

For more on the EU Presidency visit: http://eu2012.dk/en

For more information on Denmark visit: http://www.denmark.dk/en

Sources: CIA Factbook, http://eu2012.dk/en,http://europa.eu/,

www.kln.gov.my/web/guest/home.

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An Interview with Mr Ricky Tay, Volkwagen Malaysia’s

New Managing Director

You have taken over as Head of Volkswagen Group Malaysia for less than a year. What has been your greatest challenge so far?

Currently in Malaysia, the awareness of the brand Volkswagen is growing fast as it was a relatively young brand in Malaysia. We make cars for the people, at all levels and categories, and fit all applications.

Offering customers premium products at an affordable price range in all car segments are key. We will continue to carry out our brand strategy in Malaysia and ensure that Malaysian customers get the true Volkswagen experience. Volkswagen makes cars for all levels of society – for the people.

We would like to increase our customer satisfaction by expanding our reach to customers and improving our Sales and Service quality.

We have set a sales target to be sold in Malaysia this year and this would definitely contribute to our overall growth targets in the region. Therefore, we are planning to launch vehicles in upcoming weeks. We are launching products in different segments including the multipurpose segments.

We are also building a group of profitable dealers to ensure customer delight and provide a better coverage and convenience for Malaysians. Volkswagen will provide the best in class services to consumers via our partners and dealer network.

With these developments, the brand as enjoyed a steady growth in the Malaysia market and performed well for 2011. Since the momentum has been set towards the last quarter of 2011, we plan to carry this into the New Year.

How do you feel the Volkswagen brand fits into the Malaysian consumer scene?

Volkswagen has always been branded as the “People’s Car”. This means we have a sufficient product range for all segments. In 2011, there were 15 models and variants in the market and this year, we will be bringing in 12 models including variants, into the Malaysian market.

Volkswagen welcomes the Year of the Dragon

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Moreover, our brand philosophy is to ensure maximum customer satisfaction. With this brand proposition, Volkswagen fits perfectly for the Malaysian customer. Whether you are businessmen or a home­maker, or a politician or Government official, Volkswagen has a car for you.

Volkswagen Group Malaysia was officially launched in 1996 – how has the market changed since then?

Volkswagen Group Malaysia was actually launched in 2006. Before that, there were only distributors in Malaysia. The Malaysian automotive market has changed tremendously over the past 10 years. There are new players in the market, competition is very high and there are new policies in place. The market has become more fragmented and there are more consumers in place.

Additionally, the most important of all, the consumers have become more discerning.

They are spoilt for choices now and it is a good development.

Volkswagen will endeavor to fulfill all these demands and needs within the marketplace by displaying Volkswagen’s brand philo­sophyto Malaysians. We will continue to highlight new technologies and show Malaysians just how relevant they are in today’s context.

You have recently opened new showrooms in Ipoh, Kuantan and Kuching – how do you see the market for Volkswagen expanding in 2012?

We see a dynamic growth Volkswagen Group Malaysia. Currently, Volkswagen has 17 retail outlets in Malaysia.

We will develop our network through partnerships with Dealer Groups. We have received strong interests from investors both locally and internationally to invest in our dealerships. By this, the brand intends to set a new retail standard in the auto­motive industry in Malaysia and Malaysian customers can look forward to a delightful experience with the brand.

The automotive industry is particularly difficult for overseas brands in Malay-sia. As a European company, what changes would you like to see intro-duced as a result of the EU-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement currently being negotiated?

We believe the trade agreement is a good move by the government and it will be beneficial to all parties especially the consumers.

As we sell more and more cars in the world, we see the need to rationalise our plans on assembly and operations. As the world and each individual region and country is diverse and unique in its own right, such a

move would only offer more for customers globally and this ensures our products continue to stay relevant within the marketplace.

• Malaysiaisexperiencingsteadygrowthin the automotive sector and we are very bullish about the market. Malaysia needs several new policies in order to keep track with changing times, including these 3.

1. Policies in favour of innovation – Hybrid and DIESEL and efficient petrol engines

o The Government’s initiative to offer tax incentives to manufac­turers who bring in hybrid vehicles is commendable but this should not be limited to vehicles 2,000cc and below

o The Government should extend this tax incentive based on actual carbon footprint instead of the type of engine used and so; this can be produced by petro, diesel, hybrid or even electric cars.

2. Introducing scrapping policy for all cars.

This addresses the two most fundamental issues facing the car industry today – the first is that it

o Creates demand;o Getting inventory moving and

helping the car companies get back to manufacturing.

o The new or nearly­new cars that participants would be eligible to buy all have much lower carbon emissions than older cars

o Eradicates the problem of un­roadworthy vehicles on the road

o Spurs infrastructure growth

“BlueMotionTechnologies is the umbrella brand for all technologies and innova­tions that make our vehicles more efficient today.”

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3. Regulated used car policyo To ensure the consumer is

protected at all costso And only “fit” vehicles are on sale

and on the road

You have been in the automotive industry for over 30 years – what is it about Volkswagen that has made you choose to stay over the years and through various countries?

I joined the Volkswagen brand in 2000, some 12 years ago. With the brand, I feel like I’m serving global leading company. The Volkswagen brand itself is very unique and diversified. With cars in every segment, I believe I am part of contributing to the people cars that are affordable, and for people of different walks of life. It is truly the brand for the people.

Tell us about your Culture and CSR programs at Volkswagen?

Currently, we are involved in education and we do this with the International College of Automotive Management (ICAM) which is owned by DRB­HICOM group. I sit on the advisory board to find ways to assist for future internships and skills­based jobs related to Volkswagen.

In 2010, Volkswagen Group Malaysia supported the River Jungle marathon as

part of promoting a healthy lifestyle. We also sponsored the Austria­Germany­Swiss Charity Bazaar where proceeds went to several charitable organisations in the country.

It’s been reported that in 2012 Volkswagen will be launching hybrid engine models – will these be available in Malaysia? Do you see the hybrid engine becoming the industry standard?

Yes, in due time, hybrid engines could become an industry standard. However, as its growth would depend on the infrastructure development, it will take time.

At Volkswagen, we see the need to provide solutions to our customers in the short term, which is where our TSI and DSG fit in. Capitalising on a ‘downsizing’ strategy where engine displacements are reduced without compromising on power, torque and the fun of driving. This combination contributes to a significant reduction in fuel consumption and emissions. Our TSI and DSG technology works with RON95 petrol and it is a solution for Malaysians in the short term.

Volkswagen has a clear roadmap towards environmental protection that stretches from our products to changing the mindset of the people through ‘Think Blue’. This

concept will be rolled out in Malaysia this year.

Globally, Volkswagen pools all of its eco­friendly innovations under an umbrella brand that signif ies eff iciency: BlueMotionTechnologies – a pledge to the environment. This enables us to help conserve something we consider very important – nature.

BlueMotionTechnologies is the umbrella brand for all technologies and innovations that make our vehicles more efficient today. It stands for the interaction of a number of innovations that work together to make a Volkswagen vehicle more economical and with low emissions.

These cars will be introduced in Malaysia and we do expect environmentally friendly cars becoming an industry standard as more Malaysians become more environmentally conscious.

This year, we will be introducing some of the products that come with these technologies – The Touareg Hybrid and Touareg TDI, which is a diesel­powered vehicle. This will be the first time a hybrid and diesel is being introduced by Volkswagen in Malaysia.

The EU is the world’s largest producer of motor vehicles. As such the automotive industry is a key element of Europe’s prosperity. It is a huge employer of skilled workforce and a key driver of knowledge and innovation. It represents Europe’s largest private investor in research and development (R&D). It also makes a major contribution to EU’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and exports far more than it imports.

The main objectives of the European Commission regarding the automotive sector are:

1) To strengthen the competitiveness of the automotive industry

The aim is to identify and assess policy issues of significant importance to the

competitiveness of the EU automotive industry and to suggest solutions that take into consideration economic, social and environmental objectives.

2) To complete, adapt and simplify the Internal Market regulatory framework

The work on improving the Internal Market is built upon the introduction of the EC Whole Vehicle Type­Approval System which allows manufacturers to have a vehicle “type” approved in one Member State and then be able to market the vehicle in all other Member States without further tests.

3) To promote globalisation of the technical regulatory framework through UNECE

Global technical harmonisation is a key factor in strengthening the competitive­ness of the European automotive

Facts About Europe: The EU and the Automotive Industry

industry world­wide. The EU is a Contracting Party to two agreements of the United Nations Economic Commis­sion for Europe (UNECE): the 1958 Agreement on Uniform Technical Prescriptions for Vehicles, and the Global Agreement of 1998.

Source: ec.europa.eu

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The Malaysian automobile sector is cha­racterised by a domestically developed manufacturing structure geared towards the production of passenger vehicles (more than 9/10 of the production output). The sector has throughout been permeated by government policies aimed at fostering, developing and sustaining the viability of its vehicle producing national champions and domestic suppliers. In 1985, through the efforts of a joint venture between Malaysian Heavy Industry Corporation of Malaysia and Mitsubishi the first Malaysian domestic passenger vehicle Proton emerged from production. Since those founding years Mitsubishi has divested from Proton, making it a fully owned Malaysian brand. Proton was followed by the establishments of the small car manufacturer Perodua in 1993 (now controlled by Toyota­owned Daihatsu), the heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer Malaysian Bus and Truck (MTB) in 1994, the motorcycle manufacturer Modenas in 1995, and finally, a light com­mercial vehicle manufacturer Inokom in 1997. In total there are 28 manufacturing and assembly plants locally, with a combined capacity of 960’000 vehicles per year. This denotes a significant overcapacity in terms of production at the moment.

Malaysia is the country in Southeast Asia with the highest car ownership ‘density’ which implies a certain level of saturation of the Malaysian vehicle market. Still, sales and production of vehicles have been on a steady rise, with the exception of the periods of the Asian financial crisis and the 2008 financial crisis. The Malaysia Auto­motive Association (MAA) expects that in 2012 the total industry volume will reach an all­time high of 615,000 units. This positive trend is attributed to strong consumer confidence, stable overnight policy rate at 3% and tax incentives for green cars. Additionally, the government continues to subsidize the price of petroleum products with 31­32% of their actual market price.

Government regulation of the Malaysian automotive sector is still heavily influenced by import substitution industrialisation (ISI) policies introduced in the 1960s. The ISI policies aimed at fostering and protecting an industry domestic vehicle manufacturers and local components suppliers. The policies included requiring local component

content requirement in produced vehicles to be of a certain percentage, imposing import taxes and putting a tariff system on Complete Build Units (CBU) and Complete Knock Down (CKD) imports as well as an import license scheme, requiring that licenses had to be renewed every six months1,.

In the last decade, the Malaysian authorities have been facing regional and international pressure2 to loosen some of their protective grip on the automotive sector. As result, import taxes have declined but the government introduced an excise tax on all vehicle imports which ranges from 90% to 250% depending on the type and engine capacity. This in effect means that govern­ment protectionism over the sector is maintained. A liberising review of the National Automotive Policy (NAP), a strategy aiming to boost the competitive­ness of the sector, offers tax and licensing incentives for the luxury and green vehicles segment.

Behind high protectionist barriers, Proton and Perodua reached an overwhelming 90% market share, but none of them managed to convert the steady domestic revenue stream into international compe­titiveness enhancing investments. Behind this failure lies the most evident fault of Malaysia’s automobile programme, the fault of not being establishing performance rating and apply internationally used bench­marks which would have allowed the government and the companies themselves to be compared to foreign competitors3. Another issue are the poor technological capabilities of Malaysian cars. The two main problems hindering technological upgrading are poor human capital and lacking linkages between meso­level

organisations (universities, government research labs etc.) and the domestic vehicle makers.

The Malaysian automobile market is domi­nated by Japanese automakers. Market sales figures for 2010 show among the top ten passenger vehicle makers five are Japanese or controlled by Japanese firms. These include Perodua, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Suzuki, three are Malaysian (Proton, Naza, Inokom), one is South Korean (Hyundai, which also is a minority share­holder of Inokom), and Daimler owned Mercedes is the only European represented on the list. Other European actors in the Malaysian market include passenger car makers BMW, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Volvo, Audi, MINI, Renault, Land Rover and Porsche. To this tally, the commercial vehicle manufacturers Scania and MAN can be added.

The European firms’ presence in the Malaysian market is somewhat restricted to the luxury cars segment. This is relatable to the tariff structure and excise duties which make it difficult for comparatively high prices European brands to compete with locally made cars and highly competitive Japanese brands’ cheaper models. Given the high protective barriers and outright restrictive measures to the Malaysian market many European makers have teamed up with domestic partners, parti­cularly in the area of distribution. The EU is seeking to gain better market access through ongoing multilateral and bilateral negotiations, with most energy being spent on negotiations of FTAs for the moment.

Malaysia’s Automotive Industry – An overview’

1 UNESCAP2 TRIMS is one of the mechanisms used to

achieve trading and liberalization that is developed under WTO. Under TRIMS, partici­pating countries are required to abolish unfair trading practices that includes abolishment of rules and policies by government in the com­pulsory usage of locally produced inputs for manufacturing of traded goods. As a partici­pating country to the abolishment of TRIMs, Malaysia is required to phase out several measures that are considered unfair trading practices to protect the local automobile industry that includes Local Material Content Policy (LMCP) and Mandatory Deleted Items (MDI). (Ibid.)

3 Wad 2009, Rasiah 2011

© Proton Holdings Berhad

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Green economy has to support economic growth. This is the main target for development of modern, clean technologies, investments in renewable energy sources, improvement of energy efficiency and efficient use of natural resources. Poland has followed the low-emission path of development since the beginning of the system and economic changes at the end of 1980s. During that time it reduced CO2 emissions by over 30% with the simultaneous growth of GDP by 70%. It is very important that the trend be continued as despite the global financial crisis of 200, Poland has been recording positive GDP growth every year since then.

The decade of the 1990s brought growing unfavourable atmospheric phenomena causing a variety of weather anomalies. The international research and development and political communities generally believed that the dynamics of atmospheric pheno­mena observed may be the effect of cumulated global change in the Earth’s climate – change caused e.g. by the long­term impact of man’s activities on eco­systems. The scientific communities working for the purposes of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are convinced that there is a dependency between the growth of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and the growing trend of global temperatures on the Earth, threatening serious consequences for climatic stabilisation and equilibrium.

The possible climate change causes increasing concern, since its effects may be very painful for the entire international community – irrespective of place of resi­dence or affluence. The correct assessment and the launch of political mitigating action is now one of the greatest developmental challenges facing the world. This challenge won understanding and support at the forum of the United Nations Organisation, which was adopted at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was then signed by more than 150 countries, including Poland. The Con­vention came into effect in March 1994. Poland as a party of the Covention has the obligation to take action to stabilise greenhouse gas contents in the atmosphere at levels preventing permanent global climate change and to increase its removals by sinks. The Convention obliges the individual countries to make periodical inventories and report on the emissions and removals by sinks of all greenhouse gases which are not covered by the Montreal Protocol, using comparable methodologies approved by the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Convention.

Poland met its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with a significant surplus. Under the Kyoto Protocol, Poland is committed to reducing its emissions by 6% by 2012 with respect to 1988 (basis year for Poland). In the past 20 years the emissions fell by more than 30% with a simultaneous growth of GDP by 70%.

For the most part, such large reductions were the effects of the processes of political and economic transition initiated in the early 1990s.

Figure 1. Trend of aggregated GHG emissions in 1988 - 2009 relative to Poland’s Kyoto Protocol target 1

The implementation of the commitments under the Convention and the ratification of the Protocol are treated by the international community as a measure of Poland’s involvement in the pursuit of the global poli­cies of sustainable development, including the policy of climate change mitigation.

In order to minimize adverse effects of economy on the environment and climate there is a need of a change in the policy pursuit. Poland is doing so. Bearing in mind that one of the biggest sources of emissions in Poland is the energy sector, in 2009 “Energy Policy 2030” was adopted.

Table 1. Percentage shares of individual source sectors in 2009 emissions (%).

CO2 CH4 N2OTOTAL 100.00 100.00 100.00

1. Energy 93.54 41.92 7.38

2. Industrial Processes 6.19 0.96 3.98

3. Solvent and Other Product Use

0.20 0.00 0.45

4. Agriculture 0.00 35.50 84.11

5. Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry

- - -

6. Waste 0.07 21.62 4.08Source: National Inventory Report 2011

By means of actions initiated at the national level, the energy policy contributes to the implementation of energy policy objectives specified at the Community level. As a Member State of the European Union,

1 www.kobize.pl

POLAND– Low CO2 emission and Positive GDP growth

United NationsFramework Convention onClimate Change

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Poland actively participates in devising the Community energy policy, it also imple­ments its main objectives under the specific domestic conditions taking into account the protection of interests of customers, the energy resources and technological conditions of energy generation and trans­mission.

In line with the above, the primary directions of Polish energy policy are as follows:­ to improve energy efficiency;­ to enhance security of fuel and energy

supplies;­ to diversify the electricity generation

structure by introducing nuclear energy;­ to develop the use of renewable energy

sources, including bio­fuels;­ to develop competitive fuel and energy

markets;­ to reduce the environmental impact of

the power industry.

The adopted directions of energy policy are largely correlated. Improvement of energy efficiency reduces the increase in demand for fuels and energy, and thus it is con­ducive to enhancing energy security by reducing dependence on import; it also reduces the environmental impact of the power sector by reducing emissions. The development of renewable energy sources, including the use of biofuels and clean coal technologies and the introduction of nuclear energy, bring about similar effects.

The main energy policy objectives in the field of renewable energy sources are as follows:­ increasing the use of renewable energy

sources in the final energy use to at least 15% in 2020 and further increase in the following years;

­ increasing the share of bio­fuels in the market of transport fuels to 10% by 2020, and increasing the use of second generation bio­fuels;

­ protecting forests against overexploita­tion in order to obtain biomass, and balanced use of agricultural areas for production of renewable energy sources, including biofuels, so as not to allow competition between renewable energy production and agriculture and to preserve biodiversity;

­ using the existing weirs owned by the State Treasury for power generation;

­ increasing the diversification of supply sources and the creation of optimal conditions for distributed power genera­tion based on locally available resources.

The main energy policy objectives in the area of mitigating the environmental impact of power industry are as follows:­ reducing CO2 emission by 2020, while

maintaining a high level of energy security;

­ reducing emission of SO2, NO, and dust (including PM10 and PM2.5) to the level set forth in the current and drafted EU regulations;

­ reducing the negative impact of the power sector on the condition of surface water and groundwater;

­ minimizing waste dumping by using them in the economy to the greatest possible extent;

­ changing the structure of energy genera­tion towards low­emission technologies.

Green and sustainable development of the economy is one of the main focuses in Poland’s policy. It is reflected also in the National Programme for the Development of a low carbon economy (NPRGN) which results from the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other substances released into the air in all areas of the economy.

Achieving the reduction effect is related to the rational spending of funds. The essence

of the program is to provide economic, social and environmental benefits from undertaking to reduce emissions, including performance through increased innovation and implementation of new technologies, reducing energy consumption, create new jobs and, consequently, growth­enhancing economic competitiveness. The Pro­gramme is to be adopted in 2012.

Poland still recognizes the need to further support and to develop green technologies in all the sectors of economy, e.g. energy, transport, waste management, construction etc. One of activities in this direction is GreenEvo - the Green Technology Accelerator. This innovative project of the Ministry of Environment is prepared with a view to promote Polish environmental technologies and support for development of enterprises in this regard. The project’s task is to support domestic companies involved in development of green technologies in their operation and promotion of their unique products in international markets.

The GreenEvo Project is one of the best examples of governmental assistance for development of green technologies on enterprises’ level especially in the SMEs sector and of public­private cooperation (www.greenevo.gov.pl).

EUMCCI is organising a mission to visit GREENEVO in Poland in April, please contact jacqueline@eumcci.com

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In 2013, the Tren Urbano metro line in the Peruvian capital of Lima is due to be extended. This high­level extension will run along a viaduct and cover a distance of approximately twelve kilometers. Siemens Infrastructure & Cities will be responsible for electrifying the entire section of track on behalf of train consortium “Consorcio Tren Eléctrico”, and this will help it to build on the success it is already enjoying on the Peruvian market. Siemens carried out the electrification work for the first metro extension in Lima back in 2010, which enabled it to gain a foothold on this particular market.

Siemens will be responsible for electrifying the entirety of the new double­track metro line, which is to run from the northern suburbs of Lima right through to the historic downtown area and will include ten stations. The remit will involve providing a feeder station (60 kV/20 kV) with two 20 MVA transformers, two 20 kV cable distribution system rings, as well as ten station supplies and four 1500 V rectifier substations. In addition to the double twelve kilometers long catenary line running

along the actual route, the order also covers the installation of a 2.6 km overhead contact line system for the planned depot. On top of that, a Scada (supervisory control and data acquisition) system is to be implemented for the purpose of monitoring and controlling the traction power supply.

“The new metro line will connect even more districts to the metropolitan railway system. Not only will this encourage urban development, but it will also reduce CO2 emissions, as approximately half of the electricity used for railway electrification will be generated using hydroelectric power. What’s more, the new line will considerably reduce the amount of time it takes to get into the city while keeping prices affordable for everyone. As far as residents of Lima’s outermost districts are concerned, this is a key aspect”, explains Mirko Düsel, CEO of Business Unit Rail Electrification within the Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector. Now that the first metro extension has been completed and put into operation and once the construction work for the second one is underway, the local transport operators in Lima plan to extend the metro system

within the capital even further.

Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, operating in the fields of industry, energy and healthcare as well as providing infrastructure solutions, primarily for cities and metropolitan areas. For over 160 years, Siemens has stood for technological excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality. The company is the world’s largest provider of environmental technologies. Around 40 percent of its total revenue stems from green products and solutions. In fiscal 2011, which ended on September 30, 2011, revenue from continuing operations totaled €73.5 billion and net income from continuing operations €7.0 billion. At the end of September 2011, Siemens had around 360,000 employees worldwide on the basis of continuing operations.

Further information is available on the Internet at: http://www.siemens.com

Siemens to Electrify Additional Metro

Line Using Hydroelectric Power

Siemens Infrastructure & Cities will be responsible for electrifying a new high-level section of the Tren Urbano metro line in the Peruvian capital of Lima. Siemens carried out the electrification work for the first metro extension in Lima back in 2010, which enabled it to gain a foothold on this particular market.

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Q-CELLS Malaysia Launches Solar Showcase

Kagayaku Awarded the Prestigious Enterprise 50 Award

Q­Cells Malaysia opened its doors on 8 December 2011 to hold a solar showcase at its premises at Selangor Science Park 2, Cyberjaya. Q­Cells technical and sales staff informed interested PV players about its latest product innovations, ranging from solar cells to solar modules featuring Q.PRO & Q.BASE (multicrystalline), Q.PEAK (monocrystalline) and Q.SMART (thin­film) modules, up to innovative solar system applications. The showcase also included the newly completed gallery which gave an insight into the history of Q­Cells and its development in the Malaysian market.

Close to 100 participants from the Malaysian PV industry and public sector were recorded at the event titled “Q­Cells in Focus – A World of Sunshine”, which was officiated by Deputy Minister of Trade YB Dato’ Mukhriz Tun Dr. Mahathir.

As part of the event, Q­Cells officially launched a new test­field that it has established in the past weeks. It comprises various Q­Cells solar technologies with an overall capacity of up to 18 kWp and locates right next to the production facility.

“We are very proud to manufacture products and systems, developed and engineered with world­acclaimed German technology in Malaysia. This allows us to have trusted and high­quality products from our own source available for our growing circle of clients in Malaysia and the Asian Pacific region“, said Managing Director of Q­Cells Malaysia, Franz Vollmann, in his opening speech.

With the recent imple­mentation of the Feed­in­tariff (FIT) Program for renewable energies in Malaysia, which started in December 2011, Q­Cells expects to see a real surge in PV installations in the local market.

With its production site in Malaysia now also transforming into a sales hub for the Asian Pacific region, Q­Cells is in an ideal position, to serve the growing

potential of the Malaysian market and the overall region. With production and distribution facilities in Malaysia, Q­Cells will be able to grant short delivery times, provide technical support to its clients on short notice and reduce transportation costs.

Kagayaku was recently awarded the prestigious Enterprise 50 Award on 18th November 2011 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. The award was presented by YB. Dato’ Jacob Dungau Sagan Deputy Minister (Industry), Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

The award was accepted on behalf of Kagayaku by Mr Peter Paphitis. Enterprise 50 is an annual award programme organised by the SME Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp.) and Deloitte Malaysia, with supporting sponsorship by RHB Bank Berhad, Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) and Celcom Axiata Berhad to celebrate and highlight the achievements of enterprising small and medium companies that are well positioned for the future.

For information about Kagayaku, visit: www.kagayakulogistics.com

Kagayaku Logistics Sdn. Bhd was established in 1996 as a leading global logistics services provider and currently employ an experienced team of 40+ professionals.

Mr Peter Paphitis holding Enterprise 50 Award

The award presentation

A ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the opening of Q-Cells’ Solar Showcase. Fr. l. to r. Mr Franz Vollmann (Managing Director of Q-Cells Malaysia Sdn Bhd), YB Dato’ Mukhriz Tun Dr. Mahathir (Deputy Minister of Trade, Malaysia), Mr Iruthaya Das (Finance Director of Q-Cells Malaysia) and Mr Hannes Behacker (Senior Vice President – Asia-Pacific/Middle East, Q-Cells SE)

Corporate Partner News

EUMCCI Review 37

5 year EUMCCI Corporate Partners Shearn Delamore introduce new practice groups

Shearn Delamore have announced the launch of new practice groups to meet the increasing range of legal needs of companies in several areas including:­

Energy, Natural Resources & Green Technology Practice GroupThe Energy, Natural Resources & Green Technology (ENRGT) Practice Group was established to assist our clients to harness the growing business opportunities in the fields of oil and gas, mining, power production, energy and natural resources financing and hedging, hydro, solar and wind, biomass and biofuels and renewable energy.

Our Practice Group members have the breadth and depth of industry knowledge that comes with years of experience as advisors to public and private sector clients internationally. We number among our clients utility companies, oil producers, mining companies and solar companies.

Environmental Practice GroupThe Environmental Practice Group deals with both contentious and non­contentious work. We advise clients on a broad range of matters, including regulatory compliance, environmental audits and tortious liability issues. We also represent clients in civil tort claims, and in dealings with and prosecu­tions by the Department of Environment.

Infrastructure & Projects Practice GroupShearn Delamore & Co.’s Infrastructure & Projects Practice Group is led by partners with extensive experience. The team comprises of partners with diverse back­ground in strategic, technical, financing and operational expertise.

With our broad experience and knowledge, we are able to provide advice in the plan­ning, development, and management of public­private partnerships and private finance initiatives and other related issues that arise in the area of infrastructure and projects.

Regulatory Compliance & Enforcement Practice GroupThe Regulatory Compliance & Enforcement Practice Group provides practical, professional and comprehensive advice to a multitude of domestic and international clients.

There is a wide array of legislation and administrative action that subjects financial and corporate activity to a growing need for compliance, and in dealing with various regulatory and enforcement bodies. This practice group deals with areas of activity coming under the purview of various authorities including the Securities Com­mission, Bursa Malaysia (Stock Exchange) and other law enforcement authorities. The practice areas include anti­money laundering, anti­corruption, breach of trust, whistle­blowers and insider trading.

For more information please visit http://www.shearndelamore.com/

Fraser Place Kuala Lumpur provided assistance and aid to 35 underprivileged children of House of Joy after a recent fire incident gutted their home in Puchong, just two days before New Year.

The aid and support is part of the hotel’s corporate social res­ponsibil ity initiative aimed at giving back to society. In a simple ceremony held at the multi­purpose hall in Taman Kinrara recently, Fraser Place Kuala Lumpur’s Executive Assistant Manager Mr Thompson Shieh pre­sented a cheque of RM 5,000 to House of Joy Chairman Pastor Tang Chee Sing.

New Year Joy: Fraser Place Kuala Lumpur Gives Donation Aid to 35 Homeless Children from House of Joy

“In line with Fraser Place Kuala Lumpur’s corporate social res­ponsibility objective to deliver relief to the underprivileged, we hope our contribution will help to further ease their recent burden and at the same time create a caring society within

our organi­zation,” Shieh said.

House of Joy Chairman Pastor Tang Chee Sing said the monetary contribution from Fraser Place Kuala Lumpur is timely and will bring some joy to the children as they are in the midst of raising RM2mil to build a new home. The

children are putting up temporarily in the multi­purpose hall and plan to move out after Chinese New Year.

For more details of Fraser Place Kuala Lumpur, visit www.frasershospitality.com

House of Joy Chairman Pastor Tang Chee Sing received the donation cheque from Mr Thompson Shieh, Fraser Place Kuala Lumpur Executive Assistant Manager.

Fraser Place Kuala Lumpur team with the children from House of Joy during their recent visit at the multi-purpose hall in Taman Kinrara, Puchong.

EUMCCI Review38

New Corporate Partners

Mezzanine Floor, MIDABlock 4, Plaza SentralJalan Stesen Sentral 5KL Sentral, 50470 Kuala LumpurMalaysiaTel: +603­2260 2270Fax: +603­2260 2292Email: tim.saw@investkl.gov.myWebsite: www.investkl.gov.my

Point of ContactMr Tim Saw, Communications & Alliances

Brief Company ProfileWe are Government Special Purpose Entity to attract, facilitate and service Large Global Multinationals into Kuala Lumpur.

InvestKL Corporation

Kuala Lumpur City Centre50088 Kuala LumpurTel: +603­2333 2888Fax: +603­2333 2882Email: info@klccconventioncentre.comWebsite: www.klccconventioncentre.com

Point of ContactDatuk Peter Brokenshire, General Manager

Brief Company ProfileA world class, technologically–advanced, purpose­built facility designed to accommodate international, regional and local conventions and meetings, tradeshows, public exhibitions, entertainment and corporate events.

Kuala LumpurConvention Centre

P.O.Box 1377Sharjah, UAETel: 00971 (6) 526 33 37Fax: 00971 (6) 526 34 44Email: info@hfza.aeWebsite: www.hfza.ae

Point of ContactMr Rashid Al Leem, Director General,Sharjah Department of Seaports & Customs and Hamriyah Free Zone Authority

Brief Company ProfileHamriyah is one of the fastest growing and dynamic free zones in the world, manages an area of over 22 million square meters of prime industrial and commercial land & a 14 meter deep water port . The 15 years old free zone continues to grow from strength to strength, over 6,000 companies across 138 nations have chosen Hamriyah as a launching pad for their businesses serving as a testament to Hamriyah’s success.

Hamriyah FreeZone Authority

c/o Embassy of Switzerland16 Persiaran Madge55000 Kuala LumpurTel: +603­2162 9889Fax: +603­2162 8410Email: myswiss@streamyx.comWebsite: www.myswiss.org

Point of ContactMr Arno Thöny, Chairman

Brief Company ProfileThe Swiss Malaysian Business Association (SMBA) was constituted in May 2000 with the main objectives to: 1) Promote and foster bilateral trade, services and investment between Switzerland and Malaysia 2) Promote Malaysia and Switzerland as Investors’ destination and assist potential new Swiss and Malaysia Investors 3) Promote the knowledge and image of Switzerland in Malaysia and of Malaysia in Switzerland.

Swiss MalaysiaBusiness Association

No.39, Jalan Sungai Besi 1/21Taman Sungai Besi Indah43300 Seri KembanganSelangorTel: +603­8948 3953Fax: +603­8948 1895Email: edwingan@itronics.com.myWebsite: www.itronics.com.my

Industronics Automation Sdn Bhd

Point of ContactMr Edwin Gan, Director

Brief Company ProfileIndustronics Automation (IASB) is an established member of Industronics Berhad group of companies specializing in the provision of environmental monitoring & control solutions and services; eco­green energy savings as in light retro­fittings using T5 / LED / Induction manufactured in­house, utilized both interior / exterior buildings, energy audits and consultancy. IASB also caters for building management system such as fire alarms, security and electronic display solutions.

‘It is pleasing to see the EUMCCI ICT Committee taking a proactive

role in raising key issues and driving relevant industry activities

over the year with the intent of raising the profile of European

companies in Malaysia’

– Mr Harith Menon, Head, Marketing and Corporate Affairs,

Nokia Siemens Networks

Network:With over 30 events each year, at all levels, the Chamber allows members to meet leaders in business and political spheres.

Communicate:The EUMCCI Quarterly Review is sent to over 3000 companies, in hard copy and online. The EUMCCI e­bulletin is sent to over 6000 business leaders bi­monthly.

Exposure:The Chamber is online at www.eumcci.com, on Facebook and Linked In. Advertise with us on our website and in our publications.

Member perks:Attractive discounts from our member companies and vetted partners.

Influence:Raise issue via Committees and dialogues.

Online listing:All members are entitled to a listing in our online directory with a weblink directory to your own website.

‘The EUMCCI helps us to open doors and broaden our

network of partners through a variety of platforms’

– Simon Burley, General Manager, M+W Group, Malaysia

Qatar Airways – EUMCCI Platinum Partner

Qatar Airways privileges for EUMCCI Corporate Partner

include: Year round discounted prices to select destinations

EUMCCI Corporate

Partner Benefits

To become a Corporate Partner contact us:member@eumcci.com, +603­2162 6298

or visit our website to sign up online