Sabah aims to become China-Malaysia halal hub
Dexter Lau
KOTA KINABALU (June 5): The Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce (MCCC) Sabah Branch is reaffirming its strategic alliance with the World Halalprenuer Council to focus on positioning Sabah as the gateway for China-Malaysia halal ecosystem, as well as transforming Sabah into an international halal hub.
Its president, Datuk Dexter Lau, disclosed that both parties met recently and agreed to turn their prior strategic engagement into actionable collaborative frameworks.
'We will be specifically focusing on bilateral halal trade, education, publication leadership and the joint organization of prestigious and documentation initiatives,' he said.
Dexter said the chamber had appointed four of their committee members namely MCCC Sabah first vice president Jacky Chin, treasurer Shawn Tan, committee members Lanice Ng and Dr Gloria Chang as the working committee of WHC Sabah Chapter.
Dexter strongly believes with their appointment and MCCC Sabah's participation, it would benefit the chamber's members greatly as it would provide exposure and expand visibility in international stage through WHC global events, publications and digital platforms.
The strategic collaboration will also bridge the linkage in bilateral trade and investment of halalprenuer as well as womenprenuer between China and Malaysia, particularly Sabah.
Dexter has confidence in Sabah's great potential to become the international halal hub for Southeast Asia as the its position provides access to fast growing markets with significant Muslim population in the region.
'With the continuous support and encouragement from the government in promoting international trade and investment, we believe it won't be too long to materialize our objectives and to boost Sabah's halal trade and investment to a higher level,'
According to the Global Islamic Economy Index, the global Islamic halal economy is projected to reach a market value of USD$7.7 trillion by 2025, a significant increase from its value of USD$3.2 trillion in 2015 as the growth is fuelled by the increasing demand for Shariah-compliant investments and products.
Malaysia is the global leader in the halal industry which contributes almost 10% of the country GDP, and is projected to grow further with exports valued at billions of ringgit as the country continues to be at the forefront of halal innovation, exploring areas like AI-driven supply chain platforms and plant-based pharmaceuticals.
Malaysia's largest component of the halal economy is the food services sector, with business revenue in the sector estimated at USD$31 billion (RM128.8 billion) in 2021 and forecast to reach USD$47.6 billion (RM201,02 billion) by 2025.
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