MALAYSIA WEEK 2019 ACHIEVES 'AMAZING' RESULTS IN CHINA

From Christine Lim May Yu

SHANGHAI, Sept 22 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Week 2019, a week-long online campaign to promote Malaysian products in China which ends today, has generated commendable sales driven by eight livestreaming key opinion leaders (KOLs) from Taobao, Alibaba's shopping website.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Darell Leiking described the sales achieved via these influencers as “amazing” and praised them for doing a great job.

"Three thousand units of ‘teh tarik’ (milk tea) were sold in three seconds … Amazing! Thirty thousand packs of wafers and 20,000 packs of durian pies were sold in a few minutes and five million renminbi (about RM2.94 million) of bird’s nests were sold in 10 minutes," he said in his speech at the closing ceremony of the Malaysia Week 2019 campaign.

These KOLs, he added, were able to guide the consumers with their know-how on the products sold during Malaysia Week 2019, which was organised by Alibaba for the second year in collaboration with the Malaysian government.

The minister said Malaysia Week would position Malaysia as a top-of-mind destination by showcasing more than 100 Malaysian brands, covering more than 800 products, not only to the China market but also to other markets globally.

Malaysia Week, which ran across various Alibaba eMarketplaces, aimed to promote Malaysian brands and drive export of Malaysian products or brands towards achieving sustainable export via China's e-commerce and technology giant Alibaba's ecosystem.

It was a collaborative effort between the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and other government agencies, including Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE),

Meanwhile, Alibaba group's senior director of globalisation office, Sami Farhad, said Alibaba’s business-to-business platform 1688.com and flash sale site Juhuasuan also saw sales jump 11 times and 30 times respectively during the week compared to the average weekly figures.

"Some of the best-selling products during the campaign were Zen’s Bird’s Nest, Old Town White Coffee, Julie’s Biscuits and durians," he said.

MDEC chief operating officer Datuk Ng Wan Peng said Malaysia Week’s “impressive results” demonstrated the growing demand for the country's products and, more importantly, Malaysian businesses’ readiness to go global via e-commerce.

“We hope in the coming years, more local brands and products will be brought into the China market to cater to the growing demand for quality Malaysian products among Chinese consumers.” she said.

-- BERNAMA