KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 — More Malaysian companies are involved in the global and regional supply and value chains, reflecting greater regional economic integration, said Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Secretary-General Datuk Dr Rebecca Sta Maria.

She said more than 600 Malaysian companies are operating in Asean countries, capitalising on the robust growth and economic integration that has been laid out by Asean.

“Malaysia is also host to a number of companies from other Asean member states.

“These include Bangkok Bank and Thai Summit Autoparts (Thailand), Temasek Holdings, Keppel Corporation, Wilmar International Ltd and DBS (Singapore), and PT Rajawali and RGE Group (Indonesia),” she said in a statement.

Sta Maria said the Asean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) has been in full implementation since 2010 and member states are also on track with the liberalisation of the service sectors.

“Our investment agreement is in place. We have just concluded the agreement to facilitate the freer movement of skills among the member states.

“The Asean Economic Community (AEC) scoreboard shows that Asean is on track to meeting the targets we set for ourselves,” she said.

“As at March 30, 2013, Asean as a whole has met almost 90 per cent of our phase one AEC targets, just over 70 per cent of our phase two targets and about 80 per cent of the phase three targets.

“For Malaysia, the AEC is our priority. We have met 93 per cent of our phase one targets, and 84.5 per cent and 85 per cent of phases two and three targets respectively,” she said.

The AEC is premised on a practical and realistic target for integration, she said.

“As such, I see the realisation of AEC as a significant milestone, but not necessarily the end of the journey.

“I would say that 2015 is not the end date, but rather the completion of the first set of critical measures necessary if Asean is to become that fully integrated economic community,” she added. — Bernama