20100413 1030 Malaysian Economic News.

Malaysia can be a springboard for South Korean companies to penetrate the Chinese and Indian markets, said South Korea's Small and Medium Business Corporation (SBC) president Lee Ki Won.

• He said that Malaysia has good social, physical and financial infrastructure and an excellent education system. "We should go beyond simple trading and move to forming strategic alliances which include investment, technology cooperation, joint production and marketing," he said. 
• The Korea Desk at the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) premises would be a comprehensive support centre to support industrial cooperation such as investment, technology partnerships and the joint marketing of companies in both countries.
• South Korean foreign direct investments (FDIs) in Malaysia could be set to double this year (US$133.2bn in 2009), said MIDA. (Bernama)

The government is set to lure home more Malaysian doctors and specialists with more than 10 years experience abroad by exempting them for the compulsory three years service in public hospitals. Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the programme would only be open to those who had self-funded their studies. The details of the programme would be announced soon and it was expected to be implemented this year. (Bernama)

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said that Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican had been instructed to look into the long-standing issue of restricting doctors from advertising their services in the media. They feel that there is a need to liberalise on this and to allow doctors to advertise their services. (Bernama)

Private hospitals' revenue in the country grew from RM58.9m with around 103,000 medical tourists in 2003 to RM299.1m in 2008 with around 374,000 medical tourists and the arrival of medical tourists for this year was expected to rise to another 30.0%. The country was now targeting medical tourists from Brunei, Europe, Australia and the United States, as well as developing Asean countries like Laos and Cambodia. (Bernama)

The government has allocated RM4.9m to assist private pre-schools in rural and remote areas this year said DPM cum Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. The amount would be used to assist 426 private pre-schools eligible to receive a RM10,000 one-off grant while the amount would be increased to RM5.0m next year. (Bernama)

Malaysia’s ringgit strength reflects its economic fundamentals and the country does not rely on the currency to bolster its exports, the central bank said. “What is important is that our exporters are well-positioned to make the necessary adjustments to become more competitive and to build strong buffers during the good times. Nonetheless, the financial system was now more diversified and could absorb capital inflows,” it said. (Financial Daily)

Electronic-commerce trade is expected to grow 20.0% this year, backed by private initiatives and supportive government policies, said National ICT Association of Malaysia (PIKOM) chairman, Wei Chuan Beng said. While PIKOM President C J Ang said research firm, IDC Malaysia, expected the country’s e-commerce to have a compounded annual growth rate of 16.0% this year. The business-to-consumers transaction was estimated at US$3bn for 2010 while business-to-business at around US$20.0bn. (Malaysian Reserve)

The Federal Government is establishing a special implementation task force to identify and monitor the participation of Indians in government projects and programmes. The Prime Minister’s Office said the task force would be chaired by Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam and would work closely with other relevant agencies. (The Star)