KUALA LUMPUR: More than 400 guests attended the annual gala night of the Malaysian French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFM) last week.
Present at the event were International Trade and Industry Ministry deputy secretary-general Datuk Seri Norazman Ayob, France’s Ambassador to Malaysia Frederic Laplanche and CCIFM president Gilles Waeldin.
CCIFM said Malaysia remained a favourite and competitive investment destination for French companies in the Asia-Pacific region.
There are more than 500 French businesses in Malaysia with a combined turnover of RM20 billion and together they have more than 30,000 employees.
CCIFM works closely with the government and trade agencies such as the Malaysian Investment Development Authority, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), InvestKL, Talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd (TalentCorp) and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation to continuously foster strong relationships between Malaysia and France.
A tripartite memorandum of understanding between CCIFM, TalentCorp and InvestKL was also exchanged at the event.
In addition to the MoU, five companies received awards of excellence for their achievements in fostering stronger ties between Malaysia and France.
French international banking group BNP Paribas won the award for Corporate Social Responsibility while French sporting goods retailer Decathlon Malaysia won the “Image of France” award.
French aircraft maker Airbus SE won the “Outstanding Achievements for a Large Company” award while French office supplies and workplace products maker Lyreco won the “Outstanding Achievement for Small and Medium Enterprise” award.
Metarom Asia Sdn Bhd, a French food ingredients manufacuting company, won the Special Jury prize.