UNILATERAL BAN ON 5 MALAYSIAN COMPANIES WILL NOT HURT NATION'S OVERALL EXPORT VALUE -- MITI

KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 (Bernama) -- The United States’ (US) unilateral ban on five Malaysian companies will not affect the overall value of the country’s exports, according to the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI).

The implications are individual in nature in terms of the companies’ loss of access to US-based financial, trading and services systems, it said.

“None of the trading companies is registered with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) for any manufacturing licence or incentive. This means they are traders rather than manufacturers,” the ministry said in a reply posted on the Parliament website today.

This was in response to Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee’s (PN-Beluran) request for MITI to list the companies sanctioned by the US and to state the effect on national exports.

MITI said the companies that have been hit with the unilateral ban since December 2023 are Skyline Advanced Technologies Sdn Bhd, Nava Hobbies Sdn Bhd, Integrated Scientific Microwave Technology Sdn Bhd, Arta Wave Sdn Bhd, dan Jatronics Sdn Bhd.

The five companies, it explained, are suspected or accused of conducting trading activities and supplying goods and providing supplies, including facilitating the transfer of strategic materials, components and technologies for Iran’s weapons programme or to the Russian armed forces.

Meanwhile, answering a question from Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong) who wanted to know the status of the probe on Jatronics  and the government’s follow-up action, MITI said it has contacted and met with the company’s directors to get a true picture of the situation.

 “Jatronics informed that most of its export activities involve integrated circuits goods exports, especially to Russia,” it said.

MITI said it is always in touch with the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to obtain further information on the unilateral ban while holding an information sharing session on procedures to remove the companies from the list with a US law firm (pro bono).

The ministry said it is also working with Bank Negara Malaysia to get an additional view on the financial service implication for those companies that are unilaterally sanctioned.

-- BERNAMA