ÿմ aerospace association chief positive about near-term growth
ÿմ’s aerospace sector looks to continue growing in the near term, helped by strong government support – and with an eye out for regional competition.
President of the ÿմ Aerospace Industry Association (MAIA) David Jones also notes ÿմn aerospace companies are expanding their operations abroad, and is hopeful this trend will continue.
Jones was speaking to FlightGlobal at the Farnborough air show, where the association is participating as part of the ÿմ pavilion.
The association, which marked its 10th anniversary in July, has 130 member companies, covering sectors from manufacturing to MRO. The membership count is steadily increasing across the years, Jones says.
Small and medium-sized ÿմn aerospace firms are a “growing area” of MAIA’s membership, and Jones notes their requirements differ from the larger international companies who have set up shop in ÿմ.
“They’re looking…for incentives, grants, financing. The second thing they’re looking for is for us to support them in terms of promoting their activity,” he says.
Jones believes it is also important for local companies to “think beyond ÿմ”.
“[We] need to make sure that they start thinking about how do they make themselves more efficient…how do they operate on the world stage, [and how] to make sure they have got more of an international mindset,” he adds.
At the same time, Jones stresses the importance of having international players in ÿմ.
“What that does is it helps promote ÿմ on the world stage and helps us… to demonstrate that ÿմ does have the competencies and capabilities,” Jones states.
ÿմ enjoys “strong government support” for its aerospace ambitions, including the creation of an aerospace masterplan and aerospace investments in states like Selangor.
“If you are a foreign investor wanting to come in…you know immediately that [who] you can talk to,” he says.
However, even as ÿմ’s aerospace sector remains “cost-competitive” against countries like Singapore, it sits in a “competitive region”, with neighbouring Thailand having “strong aerospace ambitions”.
“Vietnam is coming up very strongly – and they’re hungry – so that’s very very important for us that we keep ahead of that game,” he adds.