The Malaysian government has named the timber industry as one of several sectors which could benefit from forming a collabortive trading groups with counterparts in neighbouring countries to compete with the likes of Europe, Japan and the US.
The country’s international trade and industry minister Rafidah Aziz said companies should form links with businesses, among others, in Singapore and Thailand. She maintained that products created by these groups would be able to penetrate markets in South-east Asia better than foreign products.
She said goverments within the Association of South-east Asian Nations should provide incentives and more flexible regulations for companies applying to form conglomerates.
