As such, more partnership collaborations and joint ventures are expected to be signed during Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's upcoming visit to Kuala Lumpur in November.
"Although it is still early to tell and, given the level of more business to business engagements between our two countries, we are hoping to see more MOUs then," he said, in an interview with the Business Times.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak's visit to India in January was described by business communities as a shot in the arm with 18 agreements inked during his stay.
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Already, the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (Mida) has indicated the keen interest by two Indian conglomerates in setting up their regional operations in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals in Malaysia which could translate into more than RM2 billion worth of FDIs into Malaysia.
The 18 MOUs that were signed in January covered an extensive area of interest between both countries - services sector, aviation industry, biotechnology, infrastructure, petroleum and gas, education and multimedia.
Sapura Crest Petroleum Bhd and technnology-driven billion-dollar company Larsen and Toubro signed a collaboration to install four platform jackets including 12,000 MT jacket in Mumbai High North (MHN) field offshore Mumbai.
The US$75 million (RM240 million) sub-contract was part of the main engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning contract that L&T had won from India's leading oil an gas producer Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC).
Indian infrastructure group GMR, which developed the third terminal of the Indira Gandhi International Airport, is also tying up with several other Malaysian companies.
Malaysian companies are also making interesting forays in the Indian market, commented Mustapa.
One such successful venture, following a MOU in January, is Malaysia's animated movie featuring Upin & Ipin which premiered in Mumbai last month and will be released simultaneously across India this Friday (July 16), dubbed in 11 Indian languages.
Mustapa said free trade agreements will also raise the interest of the private sector of both countries.
For instance the Asean-India FTA on goods which came into effect on January 1 saw 4,399 COs (Certificates of Origin) issued until June, with exports valued at RM888.3 million.
"This number is expected to increase as tariffs are further lowered subsequently. "
The main products being traded using the preferential arrangement are chemical products, electrical and electronic products and palm oil products.
"There has been increasing interest in the AIFTA since it was concluded in 2009. I believe the private sector views the FTA as a means to gain better access to the promising Indian market."
Mustapa said that although it is too early to determine the impact of the Asean-India FTA, total bilateral trade has improved by 11.9 per cent to US$4.23 billion (RM13.5 billion) from January to May.
"If this trend continues, we are targeting for bilateral trade to grow by 20 per cent in 2010 over the previous year."
India is an important trading partner for Malaysia and since the financial crisis more than a decade ago, it has been Malaysia's largest export destination in the South Asia region.
The ongoing Malaysia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) which is targetted to be concluded by September will also give the added boost to the growth of Indian companies in Malaysia, he added.
Malaysia has slightly over 100 companies operating on its shores compared to the 3,000 operating in neighbouring Singapore.
"We hope that with the conclusion and implementation of the Asean-India FTA in services and investments and CECA, we will be able to see an increase in the number of Indian companies operating in Malaysia."
The India-Singapore CECA was signed in 2005 which accounts for the large Indian presence in Singapore.
The Malaysia-India CEO Forum also provides for greater engagement between the business communities ... this would eventually translate into substantial trade and investment activities and closer partnerships."
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