PHNOM PENH, Thirty Malaysian companies participated in the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation's (MATRADE) multi-sector trade fair in Yangon, Myanmar, recording a potential sales of RM39.1 million. MATRADE's Yangon office launched Malaysia Bazaar on Oct 13 to showcase the diversity of Malaysian finished products and services and to tap sales from Myanmar's population of 55 million. The bazaar featured fast-moving consumer goods, medical tourism, auto parts, textiles, education services, and palm oil products. The government's external trade agency fused online and onsite campaigns to foster new business relationships and to seize opportunities in the Southeast Asian market, organising 63 meetings between business owners from both countries. The event was split into two parts. Via a Facebook Live Showcase, MATRADE Yangon organised an eBizlink programme on Oct 5 and the in-store Malaysia Bazaar on Oct 13. Well-known local influencer Thazin Nwe live-streamed and introduced a range of Malaysian p roducts and services on multiple channels including Myanmar Celebrity TV and her own Facebook page. The event served as a business platform to introduce existing and new Malaysian brands and services to Myanmar consumers and to boost sales of participating supermarkets and convenience stores in the city. 'MATRADE's eBizlink Programme and the Malaysia Bazaar 2024 in Yangon is a timely and welcome initiative to reconnect the Myanmar market with Malaysian products and services after the COVID-19 pandemic. 'Such initiatives help to ensure that a wide range of Malaysian consumer products and services including education and healthcare remain in the minds of Myanmar consumers,' Charge de Affaires Johan Ariff at the Malaysian Embassy in Yangon said in a statement. MATRADE Yangon Trade Commissioner Chong Yun Jang said Myanmar represents a vast market for Malaysian exporters. 'MATRADE Yangon will continue to intensify its trade promotion programmes and networking sessions to capture more business opportunities fo r Malaysian manufacturers and exporters in this sizeable market,' Chong said. Yangon is Myanmar's largest city with a metro area population of nearly 6 million and is 375 kilometres from its capital Nay Pyi Taw. Source: BERNAMA News Agency