Honouring Malaysia’s top exporters

KUALA LUMPUR: The Export Excellence Awards (EEA) Gala Night has returned after a break due to Covid-19 restrictions, to salute exporters and recognise those who excelled in delivering Malaysian products abroad.

EEA 2021, the second edition of the awards, was held at Shangri-La KL with Carlsberg as the official beer sponsor, and saw 30 awards being given out to deserving exporters of different sizes – from small and medium enterprises to mid-tier and large companies – as well as different sectors and geographical regions.

Aside from the gold and silver winners in five industry categories, the event also recognised several winners with special awards.

Rising to the top were two Exporters of the Year – Northeast Precision Sdn Bhd and Pentamaster Corporation Bhd.

A special award for halal products was presented to Linaco Manufacturing (M) Sdn Bhd, while Transcargo Worldwide (M) Sdn Bhd was conferred the Thriving in Adversity award.

The event’s guest of honour, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, said the EEA plays a definitive role in enhancing industry excellence by recognising and giving keen appreciation to the calibre and ingenuity of the key drivers of the Malaysian economy.

“These awards could not have come at a more opportune time. We’re living in a time of extraordinary change, where we’ve had to change the way we live, rethink the way we work, and relook at how we can create a more sustainable future for people and the planet,” he said.

Star Media Group Bhd (SMG) chief executive officer (CEO) Alex Yeow said the EEA provides a platform to showcase Malaysia’s capabilities to the world.

“With this, we want to recognise and honour successful exporters and their contribution to our economy.

“You have proven that we can stand tall among international giants.

“This could not have been more evident than within the last year alone,” he said.

Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia managing director and chief executive officer Abrar A. Anwar said Malaysia remains one of the leading exporting nations in the world.

“According to a Standard Chartered study, ‘Borderless Business’, European and US companies ranked Malaysia as the second most favourable South-East Asian country for opportunities to establish or expand their resourcing, selling or operations over the next six to 12 months.

“We hope the awards will inspire and encourage more businesses to grow beyond Malaysia while honouring the heroes of the nation who are showing tremendous resilience while navigating global headwinds and demonstrating excellence by thriving in adversity.”

The event was also attended by International Trade and Industry Ministry secretary-general Datuk Lokman Hakim Ali, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia chairman Datuk Yvonne Chia, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) CEO Mohd Mustafa Abdul Aziz, Credit Guarantee Corp Malaysia Bhd senior vice-president Mohamed Azman Mohamed Taufik, SMG director Chan Seng Fatt, as well as other heads of companies and corporate guests.

The awards programme aims to build a community of Malaysian exporters to support one another, share thought leadership and best practices with the industry’s elite and provide a platform for exporters to showcase their capabilities and global potential.

EEA is organised by SMG in partnership with Standard Chartered Malaysia, with Matrade as a patron.

Hernan Corporation Sdn Bhd signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pen Aviation Sdn Bhd

5th Selangor Asean Business Conference 2021- Innovate Enterprise- The 4th IR IS REAL

Steady hand at Hernan’s helm

KUALA LUMPUR: For durian exporter Hernan Corporation Sdn Bhd, the Covid-19 pandemic has been both an opportunity and a challenge.

According to its group CEO Anna Teo, global demand for the king of fruits continues to soar despite the ongoing crisis.

“We see increasing demand from China, Australia and the United States for Malaysian durians. This is a good opportunity for us to seize, but at the same time, it poses a challenge as the supply is currently unable to meet the demand,” she said, noting that Hernan is finding ways to resolve the mismatch in demand.

One of the companies that clinched the Most Promising title at the Export Excellence Awards (EEA) 2019, Hernan has grown by leaps and bounds since it was founded 25 years ago in 1996.

Today, the company exports to 28 countries, with Teo proudly sharing that Hernan has successfully penetrated the Oman and Kuwait markets after two years of continuous follow-ups.

That said, Hernan does face its share of challenges in the Covid-19 era, most notably in terms of complying with stricter importation regulations from China’s customs.

In addressing the issue, she said, “We work with China Certification and Inspection Group Malaysia to sanitise all containers before loading the goods, in order to ensure all shipments are free of Covid-19,”

Moreover, while she noted that logistics remain an issue in terms of difficulties in securing sufficient vessels for export, Hernan is working with forwarding agents to secure advance bookings for the next three months to avoid costly shipment delays.

Despite the core of its business being in durian export, Hernan is nevertheless taking the initiative to continue its diversification strategy in creating more revenue channels, in order to generate more business outside of peak durian seasons.

Its plans for the rest of the year are to aggressively push its newly launched downstream products to both export as well as local markets.

“We’ve diversified into non-durian downstream products, such as mango passion fruit mochi, strawberry cheese mochi, mango cheese mochi and coconut mochi, among others,” she said, referencing the continued innovative efforts by Hernan’s research and development team to come up with more downstream products.

Aside from serving as a part of the company’s strategy, Teo said the diversification also stems from the desire to introduce consumers to other ways of eating durians or other tropical fruit-based products at a global level, leveraging Malaysia’s inherent natural strengths to spur further expansion into different countries.

On what she has learnt in the past year as an entrepreneur, she pointed out challenges such as shipment delays and lesser manpower capacity and said, “One of the lessons I’ve learnt is to stay vigilant all the time, especially in the export market.

“Another learning is to stay even more positive during these challenging times, so as to maintain high morale among staff.”

In this, winning EEA 2019’s Most Promising title has been a confidence booster for both Teo and her company.

“This has definitely given a confidence booster to me as well as the company, [showing] that our effort is acknowledged and we would continue to strive better moving forward,” she shared.

For those looking to participate in this year’s EEA, Teo had this to say: “Just do it! There’s no better time to submit your application. It provides a platform to gauge the effort you and your team have put in.”

EEA 2021 is organised by Star Media Group in partnership with Standard Chartered, with Matrade as patron. It is audited by BDO.

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2021/10/01/steady-hand-at-hernans-helm

MIDA Session: Creating Business Opportunities Through Halal Investment