Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak says that the country is aiming to become one of the top five meetings, incentives, convention and exhibition (MICE) destinations in Asia-Pacific in the next five years.

“Malaysia has all the inherent ingredients to be successful, such as growing accessibility, competitive pricing, leading edge infrastructure, multicultural attraction and professional expertise,” he told reporters.

In 2008, Malaysia was ranked in eighth place for the MICE market in Asia Pacific and 32^nd in the world. “We are confident that with the combined efforts of all stakeholders led by MyCEB – the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau  - our international and regional rankings will improve further in the future,” he said.

Wildlife tourism is a growing aspect, he said at the New York Times Travel Show currently being held in the city.

He added that Malaysia was increasingly seen as a destination for eco and adventure tourism as well as for great beaches.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak has announced that import duty on golf buggies has been abolished in a bid to help boost the country’s golf industry.

The Prime Minister, presenting prizes at the Maybank Malaysia Open said, “One of the ways in which we can help the development of quality golf courses in this country as well as to ensure that golf clubs in this country provide better facilities, is to remove import duty on buggies.”

In 2009, Malaysia received 350,000 visitors who came to the country specifically to play golf.

Malaysia is expected to reach its target of 50 percent broadband penetration by the end of the year, says Information Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim.

Broadband currently reaches 32.4 percent of the population. “It is believed that every increase of 100,000 users of laptop computers equipped with broadband facilities will increase the broadband penetration rate by one percent,” he said at the launch of Asia Pacific Regional Internet Conference Operational Technologies in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia’s targeted GDP growth of six per cent this year is achievable says Deputy Finance Minister, Awang Adek Husin.

The Minister said that the outlook was promising thanks to the improving global economic climate. “Exports will improve when foreign economies are improving and this will be translated into stronger demand. We see improvement on domestic demand and the timely increase in exports will certainly push our economy,” he told reporters.

The Minister said that consumer sentiment is growing and he pointed to statistics from the Malaysian Automotive Association which indicate that vehicle sales were up by 32.8 per cent in January 2010 to 50,622 units from 38,107 units in January 2009.

Malaysia’s Information Communication and Culture Ministry is to formulate a policy to enhance or commercialise the country’s arts and culture.

Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said, 

”We are studying the creative industry more closely and the Ministry, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Ministry of Education, will look closely at how we have to develop the creative industry to meet the commercial needs and requirement of our own arts and culture.

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He added that the government is helping the local music industry to become more competitive by providing incentives and funds of RM200 million.

The Minister also said that Malaysian culture and crafts will be showcased during Prime Minister Najib Razak’s visit to the US in April. Malaysian dances and music will feature at a dinner for US dignitaries.  “At the dinner, we will showcase Malaysian dances, music and stage shows suited to the tastes of the American community. It is to highlight various aspects of our culture at the international level,” he said.

Deutsche Bank of Germany has announced that it has received an International Islamic Banking license from Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia.

The license will enable Deutsche Bank to provide Islamic commercial and investment banking services denominated in foreign currencies to institutional clients throughout Asia.

Raymond Yeoh, Chief Country Officer for Deutsche Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, says, “Deutsche Bank has a proven track record of innovation in wholesale Islamic finance. Our Islamic Banking License will make this innovation more easily available to our clients in Asia while contributing to Malaysia’s position as an international Islamic finance centre.”

And Jamzidi Khalid, CEO of Deutsche Bank AG International Islamic Banking and Head of Islamic Structuring for Asia ex-Japan, says, “Making our conventional product platform available to clients in a Shari’ah-compliant format greatly increases our competitive position, while contributing to the market’s broader development. This is particularly true of the Islamic bond market, where we hope to leverage our position as the number one arranger of conventional international bonds in Asia”.

Deutsche Bank works with a leading panel of Islamic scholars to ensure its products’ strict compliance with Shari’ah principles.

A report from JP Morgan Chase & Co says that Malaysian banks and government-linked companies (GLCs) may benefit from Malaysia’s better than expected economic growth.

It said that corporate profits may increase by as much as 20.7 percent this year as the worst of the recession is now over. “Fourth-quarter earnings last year have been robust, setting the stage for a strong 2010,” it said.

Prime Minister Najib Razak will open a regional symposium in Kuala Lumpur June 23 on the prevention of economically motivated serious crime.

The three-day event will be jointly hosted by the Companies Commission of Malaysia and the Centre for International Documentation on Economic and Organised Crime which is based at Cambridge University in the UK.

Delegates will discuss a range of issues including corruption, insider dealing and controlling fraud.

Malaysia’s Terengganu state wants to attract four million tourists this year, says State Tourism, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Datuk Zaabar Mohd Adib.

Last year 3.3 million tourists visited the state – lower than the 3.5 million targeted. “Last year, we targeted 3.5 million tourists, but because of the economic slowdown and the H1N1 pandemic, we only recorded 3.3 million tourist arrivals.

 “However, with the current development, we are confident of wooing more tourists to the state this year,” he said.

Zaabar said that the state will spend RM 8million on tourism programmes this year.