KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s franchise industry is expected to grow five per cent this year due to its good prospects in the international markets.
Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said the industry contributed RM27 billion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year.
“Malaysia is on track to be the regional hub in South East Asia for the franchise industry. The industry aims to contribute RM35 billion to the national GDP in the next two years."
He said the halal franchise business in Malaysia offers good prospects to be developed in the international markets.
‘Malaysia has developed expertise and the products have strong demand abroad.
‘We are also looking at potential business opportunities with 50 countries with the highest percentage of Muslims such as Azerbaijan, Turkey, Indonesia and Bangladesh,” he said here today at the launch of the Franchise International Malaysia 2018 (FIM 2018) exhibition.
He said although a country like Japan was initially very hard to penetrate, it was possible through the franchise industry.
‘We are looking at Korea and India next. We need to understand the culture before moving in,” he said.
To date, 851 national and international franchisors were registered with Registrar of Franchise under the ministry.
Among this, the food and beverage sector leads with 40 per cent followed by learning centre and nursery accounting 11 per cent out of the total registered franchises.
More than 120 booths were exhibited at the FIM 2018, with participation from over 12 countries.
At the same event, Marrybrown, the largest local halal QSR franchise company, announced the opening of its first outlet in Tokyo, Japan this year.
Famcorp Sdn Bhd and a Japanese logistic company was announced as the master franchisor for Marrybrown Japan with the signing and exchange of their memorandum of understanding.
Both the companies will team up to develop and open 50 outlets within the next five years.