SCCC, MATRADE to strengthen cooperation to promote Sabah-China trade and investment
KOTA KINABALU (Aug 14): The Sabah-China Chamber of Commerce (SCCC) yesterday held a dialogue with the director of the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) Sabah Office, Haikal Hanib, reaching a consensus to strengthen cooperation in the future.
The aim is to promote trade and investment between Sabah and China, attract more foreign investment, and help Sabah's products and services enter the international market.
'This dialogue marks an important step forward in enhancing trade and investment cooperation between Sabah, China and MATRADE, laying a solid foundation for future collaboration,' said SCCC President Datuk Frankie Liew in a post-meeting statement to the media.
The dialogue was held at the SCCC Kolombong headquarters meeting hall and was attended by SCCC Deputy President Brett Chua, Vice Presidents Ir. Ts. Tan KJ, JP, Datuk Jonathan Koh, JP and Chiew Heng Hock, Secretary General Chea Hoong Tak, Committee Lucas Kwan, Chin Hui Zhi, Hong Jia Hao and Wong Chung Ming.
Liew later revealed that both parties conducted in-depth discussions and introductions regarding their respective roles and responsibilities. Haikal shared MATRADE's services in promoting Malaysian exports and assisting enterprises in expanding into international markets, with a special emphasis on its work focus in Sabah.
SCCC also shared its mission and vision, which is dedicated to promoting economic and trade cooperation between Sabah and China.
'In recent years, with the support of our Chinese partners, we have successfully set up offices in multiple provinces and cities in China, enabling us to deliver the latest information and opportunities to our members and strategic partners at the earliest possible time,' said Liew.
He believes there will be more opportunities for collaboration between SCCC and MATRADE in the future, welcoming MATRADE to share more information with SCCC. SCCC, in turn, will fully relay this information to its offices and partners in China, further enhancing information efficiency.
Both sides agreed that cooperation should be strengthened to position Sabah as an investment and trade hub between China and ASEAN countries, promoting more Sabah products and services into the international market.
In addition, SCCC revealed that it will host the 2025 Sabah-China Expo in November 2025 at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) and has invited MATRADE to assist in promotion, encourage more businesses to participate, and attract more visitors.
'We hope that through this expo, we can further deepen cooperation and promote more economic and trade activities,' said Liew.
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