NANNING: Remote business matching was conducted for Malaysian entrepreneurs who are unable to enter China due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.

       The exercise was made possible with Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) acting as the bridge between both sides at the 18th China-Asean Expo (CAExpo) here.

       The new strategy was adopted amid the pandemic to help the business community expand their markets in the Middle Kingdom.

       Matrade trade commissioner of Guangzhou, Zaimah Osman, said the health crisis had rendered conventional face-to-face business deals near-impossible.

       “We used to have more than 170 exhibitors showcasing some 1,000 products here yearly, but since the Covid-19 outbreak, the number of participating companies plunged to only 58 in these two years,” she revealed.

       She said the companies that were unable to attend the event physically sent samples of their products to be promoted by Matrade at the exhibition centre.

       The items included medical tools, cosmetics, food and beverage, skincare and haircare products.

       “We managed to link up 19 Malaysian companies and 60 potential buyers from around China,” said Zaimah.

       Apart from this, a live-streaming booth was also set up at the Malaysian pavilion for exhibitors to promote their products online.

       “We hired two key opinion leaders (KOLs) for the purpose and the results were promising,” she added.

       Zaimah added that the broadcasting session drew high viewership, with the figure hitting 2.1 million.

       CAExpo is the main annual trade exhibition in China participated by the Malaysian business community.

       This year, it was held from Sept 10 to yesterday.