November-December . 2022 | @ HalalSpecial Edition

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BY FATIHAH MANAF

Determined to move its halal sector forward , the Selangor government held the Selangor International Halal Convention ( SELHAC ) as part of its halal programmes . Aside from the main exhibition - showcasing the various halal businesses - the convention also featured other activities such as business matchings and a forum .

Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni , the Selangor State Executive Council ( EXCO ) for Halal Industry , during the SELHAC closing ceremony , announced a total of RM37.73 million transactions recorded from its business matchings .

“ This achievement is beyond our expectations . It serves as a good indicator of the promising future of the halal industry ,” said Zawawi .

SELHAC , which took place from March 4-6 , 2022 , was held at the Shah Alam Convention Centre ( SACC ), Shah Alam . Its expo featured numerous halal businesses , including those from Penang and Negeri Sembilan . Some companies and agencies that participated in the exhibition were Duopharma Biotech Berhad , GISB Holdings , Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation ( MATRADE ), Halal International Penang , and Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad ( BIMB ).

SELANGOR HALAL INDUSTRY FORUM 3.0

One of SELHAC ' s key components was the halal industry forum . The forum ’ s objective was to provide an interactive platform for halal stakeholders to understand the global halal ecosystem , recent trends and policies , business strategies and opportunities in the new market .

The forum highlighted four sessions of panel discussions , featuring significant halal players across various sectors , including pharmaceutical , food & beverages ( F & B ), banking and many more .

Attending the forum as one of the panellists , Duopharma Group Managing Director Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar , said the event was excellent and helpful to businesses .

“ The forum was really good . One of the issues that many companies face , especially SMEs , is some basic knowledge about how they can grow their business , how they can export , etc . Such conferences like this help , at least on the basic side , as the moderator , Ameer Ali said , it ’ s free advice that we can give to SMEs in Malaysia ,” said Leonard .

Leonard stated the halal market was not new . “ What we ’ re taking advantage of is a market that already exists but

Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni , Selangor EXCO for Halal Industry .

not given a choice of products . So , participating with halal certification in Malaysia or globally allows businesses to provide products to a market that already exists . We ’ re not creating a market . We ’ re just fulfilling the need ,” said Leonard .

KEEPING UP WITH THE GLOBAL HALAL TRENDS

Also present during the forum was Remee Yaakub , Director of Halal F & B and Agro-based Section , Export Promotion and Market Access Division of MATRADE .

Touching on Malaysian halal businesses , Remee said : “ In the perspective of MATRADE , at the end of the day , Malaysian SMEs must keep abreast of the latest development by the trends of the global halal market . It is more important because the global market is now in recovery mode after the Covid- 19 pandemic .

“ A lot of changes took place . It is very

Mohd Zawawi visiting booths at SELHAC .

Remee Yaakub , Director of Halal F & B and Agro-based Section , Export Promotion and Market Access Division of MATRADE .

Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar , Group Managing Director of Duopharma Biotech Berhad .

important for Malaysian companies to quickly be agile and flexible to quickly adapt to the changes so that they can keep competitive when venturing into the overseas market .” – Special Edition

AS THE strategic partner for Selangor International Halal Convention ( SELHAC ), Halal International Selangor ( HIS ), under the purview of HIS Toyyiba Sdn Bhd , also became one of the exhibitors at the event .

During a brief interview with @ Halal , HIS Chief Executive Officer Mat Ghazali Abd Rakim ( pix ) said the role of SMEs was crucial in the halal industry .

“ Since its inception in 2016 , HIS has been focusing on training , coaching and capacity development . It is about time in 2022 to encourage halal-certified SMEs to engage and produce products that could be marketed globally ,” he said , adding that the issue with SMEs products was their marketing .

Mat Ghazali stated that the strategic plan for halal players to recover their businesses post-Covid-19 was by going digital . He said SMEs must take their businesses online , and HIS would encourage their digitalisation efforts .

“ We also have a digital platform for SME products , which we hope to launch soon .”

AS ONE of the players that consistently supports the growth of halal SMEs , Bank Islam also had its booth showcased at the Selangor International Halal

Convention ( SELHAC ). During the Selangor Halal Industry Forum 3.0 , Head of SME Banking , Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad ( BIMB ), Rizal Mohd Yusof ( pix ), said Bank Islam had established some funds that helped companies in Malaysia that wanted to export their products overseas .

One of the funds was the Go Halal Fund , an RM100 million worth financing programme , collaboratively initiated by Bank Islam and the Halal Development Corporation ( HDC ) to support halal SMEs .

When asked how to get more players utilising the available funds , he said : “ It ’ s about getting the information across to the SMEs .”

“ Right now , we have the latest fund introduced by the government to assist SMEs , called Semarak Niaga . It is a zero per cent financing where it has to be repaid , but no interest will be imposed on the customers .

“ So , this type of information is very important for us to get it through to the SMEs to know the various types of funds available in the market .”

He shared that there were also many financing packages coming from Bank Negara that are distributed through commercial banks and Islamic financial institutions like Bank Islam .