KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s aerospace manufacturing exports are expected to surpass the RM9 billion mark this year, says the Malaysia Aerospace Industry Association (MAIA).
Last year, the sector’s exports came in at RM8.51 billion.
MAIA president Naguib Mohd Nor said the optimism stems from strong foreign direct investments and a higher percentage of components localisation by manufacturers.
“The idea is to have continuous double-digit growth so that the Malaysian Aerospace Industry Blueprint 2030’s revenue target of RM55.2 billion by 2030 is [achieved],” he told reporters after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between MAIA and the Indonesia Aircraft Component Manufacturer Association (Inacom) yesterday.
“The main thing now is to ensure that we have sufficient manpower, constant government support to assist the industry’s growth and the business-to-business meetings on how we can work together,” he added.
Naguib noted that the bulk of the country’s aerospace exports consist of aircraft parts and components namely wings, empennages and fuselages that are used in narrow-body Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s, as well as the wide-body A350s and 787s.
Earlier, the collaboration with Inacom is aimed at developing aerospace capabilities and growing business opportunities in the region.
“Under the MoU, both parties will explore human capital development, research and technology, and the sharing of industrial best practices,” said Naguib.
Inacom president Andi Alisjahbana said he hoped the collaboration would give a boost to Indonesia’s aircraft maintenance capabilities.
“Currently, our industry capability can only handle about 30% of the aircraft maintenance in Indonesia and the rest we have to outsource to other countries, including European countries,” he said.
