KUALA LUMPUR: Next month’s Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (Lima) 2023 will be a curtain raiser for the development of the defence and commercial industries in Asia, particularly in the aerospace sector post-Covid-19 pandemic.
Alpine Integrated Solution Sdn Bhd managing director Anita Jacobson said Lima 2023 is an opportunity for Malaysia to contribute to the sector’s market because 60 per cent of the exhibitors are from the aerospace sector. Alpine is a Lima 2023 organiser.
“There will be a lot of B2B (business-to-business) meetings because people have not been able to meet after Covid-19. Although we think that the pandemic is over, we are, in fact, just recovering.
“I called it a post-post-Covid and Lima 2023 will be a curtain raiser because this event is not only for business in this country, but it is also a platform to serve the regional market.
“We have also invited about 400 VVIPs from all over Asia to attend, including the defence and transport ministers and heads of defence and security agencies; via the Lima 2023 platform, (they will be able) to talk about the business for the region,” she said in an exclusive interview with Bernama.
Jacobson also said that Alpine and its strategic partners will set up a B2B meeting platform for local and international exhibitors. About 1,000 meetings have been targeted.
“The exhibitors themselves are considered as (potential) business partners as local and international exhibitors will meet and discuss partnerships. Therefore, that is one group that our (strategic) partners (arranging the B2B meetings) will try to find during Lima 2023.
“Both are trade visitors who come to meet local and international exhibitors to discuss business matters, but we will not stop there. We will follow up after the meeting to do a survey interview, analysis and report on the success rate,” she said.
Lima 2023 will be held from May 23 to 27 with the theme The Nexus of Asia’s Maritime and Aerospace Trade.
The last time the biennial exhibition was organised was in 2019 and the 2021 edition was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lima 2023 involves the Defence Ministry (Maritime and Aerospace Defence Industry) and the Transport Ministry (Maritime and Aerospace Commercial Industry).
Meanwhile, Lima 2023 is expected to see several memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to be signed for both the defence and commercial sectors, valued between RM6 billion and RM8 billion.
Alpine Integrated Solution Sdn Bhd managing director Anita Jacobson said the MoUs would be signed between government and companies, as well as between companies and companies.
She said Lima 2023 is also likely to see an estimated RM250 million in economic impact for local players and vendors throughout the five-day event.
On the participation of companies, she said 600 companies have registered to participate at the moment, with 70 per cent of the participation coming from international companies in 30 countries and a further 30 per cent from local companies.
“We are looking at aerospace business at around 60 per cent, with 40 per cent from the maritime industry,” she said in an exclusive interview with Bernama.
Anita said Alpine is optimistic of attracting more foreign investments, especially with the involvement of the world’s biggest players such as Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, Lockheed Martin and players from Turkey.
Alphine Intergrated Solution executive director Muhammad Aqlan Pacleb said the Transport Ministry contributes towards 40 per cent involvement in terms of getting the number of exhibitors and the event this year would see 30 per cent participation from local small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“We have about 250,000 SME industries registered in Malaysia. As such, these SMEs could see the exhibition as a potential platform to explore other markets that they have not seen before,” he said. – BERNAMA
