From: David Sangurima <sangu@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.latin-america
Date: 11 Nov 92 21:17 PST
Subject: IPS: Chilean leader's visit
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1473800383:000:5365
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!sangu    Nov 11 21:17:00 1992


From: David Sangurima <sangu>
Subject: IPS: Chilean leader's visit

/* Written  9:41 am  Nov 10, 1992 by hrcoord@igc.apc.org in igc:reg.latinameri */
/* ---------- "IPS: Chilean leader's visit" ---------- */
From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: IPS: Chilean leader's visit

/* Written 12:03 am  Nov 10, 1992 by newsdesk@igc.apc.org in
igc:ips.englibrary */ Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all
rights reserved.  Permission to re- print within 7 days of
original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: MALAYSIA: Chilean leader's visit steps up Latin American
thrust

kuala lumpur, nov 7 (ips) -- chilean president patricio aylwin's
four-day visit to kuala lumpur, which begins on tuesday, is
expected to further speed up malaysia's moves to establish trade
and investment links with latin america.

aylwin's visit is the first by a latin american head of state to
malaysia and is a response to an invitation from malaysian prime
minister mahathir mohamad who visited chile in june.

mahathir's latin american tour paved the way for a full-scale
initiation of contacts by kuala lumpur which one central bank
official has likened to christopher columbus' voyage to america in
the 15th century.

malaysian trade with latin american countries -- particularly with
chile, mexico and peru -- increased from 126 million dollars in
1990 to 263 million dollars in 1991, according to figures from
bank negara, malaysia's central bank.

this is expected to rise further as ''previously unrecognised
opportunities come into focus and new strategic alliances are
formed'', said businessman francis yeoh of the malaysia-latin
america association (malam).

''this new interest in latin america reflects a growing confidence
to venture into less chartered waters,'' nik mohamed yaacob,
director of operations of malaysia sime darby berhad, told a
recent malam forum.

until lately, malaysian trade and investments gravitated towards
developed countries. businessmen say there was relatively little
interest in countries in the south largely because of economic and
political uncertainties in those countries.

but with the increasing trend towards regionalism, there is a need
to seek new, non-traditional markets, said nik mohamed.

though still largely a capital-importing country, malaysia is
encouraging malaysian firms to invest overseas, especially in
areas where there is little expertise, as in the manufacturing and
processing of agricultural products.

this will guarantee a constant demand for malaysia's primary
commodities, said haji samsudin marsop, director for industrial
development of the ministry of international trade and industry.

united plantations bhd, malaysia's largest oil palm plantation
group, has launched a joint venture to build a palm oil refinery
with a mexican partner. more plants are planned in the region.

bank negara has signed bilateral payment arrangements to promote
trade with the central banks of venezuela, mexico, chile and peru.
(more/ips)

malaysia: chilean (2)

trade between chile and malaysia will get a big boost when the two
countries sign an investment guarantee agreement (iga) during
aylwin's visit. other agreements on air and maritime transport and
cultural exchanges will also be signed.

''the iga is particularly significant because it marks the first
such agreement signed between malaysia and a latin american
country, and the first by chile with an asian nation,'' jaime
lagos, chile's ambassador to malaysia, told reporters this week.

the iga serves as a guarantee to investors from both countries of
their respective governments' support for their investments.
malaysia has signed about 17 iga's with various countries while
chile has five such accords, mainly with european nations.

aylwin's 130-member party includes three ministers and some of
chile's leading businessmen who will be looking for opportunities
to expand trade and economic ties, said lagos.

he said his country hopes to make malaysia a ''springboard'' to
venture into the south-east asian and indochinese market.
similarly, chile could serve as a springboard for malaysian
businessmen hoping to penetrate the latin american market.

trade between chile and malaysia amounted to 154 million dollars
last year, up from 60 million in 1990. total two-way trade for the
first half of this year reached 54 million dollars with malaysian
products accounting for two-thirds of the total.

chile is the leading market for malaysian goods in latin america
while malaysia is chile's principal market in the association of
south-east asian nations (asean).

malaysia's main exports to chile are petroleum products,
telecommunication and audio-visual equipment, rubber and processed
food. its main imports are copper, fish, alcohol and fruits.

while in kuala lumpur, aylwin will open the first malaysian-
chilean joint venture, the safety footwear factory.

the malaysian mining corporation (mmc) has invested 7.2 million
dollars to mine gold in andacollo, chile. another company, the
hughes group, is negotiating with a chilean firm inveca to mine
gold in the same area.

aylwin will also sign a memorandum of understanding with malaysia
for the construction of a seven-million-dollar 'malaysia tower' in
santiago, a 12-storey building to house the malaysian embassy and
offices of malaysian companies. (end/ips/ie/lm/ln/92)