The Malaysia – New Zealand Free Trade Agreement was signed in Kuala Lumpur on 26 October 2009.
This represents a further plank in the increasing number of bilateral trade agreements negotiated by recent New Zealand Governments including with the ASEAN group, with Australia, China, Singapore, Thailand, and the Gulf Co-Operation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar), along with ongoing negotiations with Hong Kong, Korea and the Trans-Pacific group of Brunei, Chile, the United States, Peru and Vietnam.
Interlaw has member firms in many of these territories.
In particular, the relationship between Fortune Manning and the Malaysian Interlaw firm of Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill is well established and very strong. LHAG Partner, Ooi Bee Hong, visited New Zealand earlier this year to attend the Interlaw Asia Pacific Regional meeting hosted by Fortune Manning, and the two firms have an established track record in referring business in both directions.
Malaysia is New Zealand’s eighth largest export destination, accounting for almost a billion dollars of exports in 2008, and a population of more than 28 million people. The Malaysia – New Zealand FTA is intended to improve business flows, to promote co-operation and to provide enhanced access to the Malaysian market for New Zealand exporters of goods and services.
