Team Canada Trade Mission to Malaysia and Vietnam

As part of Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade, and Economic Development will lead a Team Canada Trade Mission (TCTM) to Malaysia and Vietnam. The trade mission will help Canadian exporters and innovators from across the country position themselves in these markets by showcasing their capabilities and competitiveness while facilitating long-term trade and investment opportunities.

Event details

Team Canada Trade Missions are Minister-led, enhanced trade missions to the Indo-Pacific region tied to Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy. These trade missions prioritize innovation sectors and seek to open doors for Canadian companies, from large and diverse businesses to SMEs led by groups traditionally underrepresented in trade, such as:

• women
• Indigenous Peoples
• Black and other racialized Canadians
• 2SLGBTQI+
• youth

The Team Canada model also welcomes the participation of:

• provinces and territories
• municipalities
• other government departments
• trade portfolio partners
• chambers of commerce
• trade and industry associations

all coming together under a high-profile, "whole of Canada" approach.

Dates: Sunday, March 24 – Friday, March 29, 2024

Markets: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (March 24-26, 2024) and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (March 27-29, 2024)

Sectors: The trade mission program will be tailored to areas of Canadian competitive advantage and will focus on the following sectors:

• aerospace and defence
• agriculture and processed foods (including fish and seafood)
• clean energy, clean technologies
• information and communications technologies
• infrastructure
• life sciences

Format: In-market

Please see eligibility requirements below^{Footnote *}

Why Malaysia and Vietnam?

The Indo-Pacific region is rapidly emerging as the global center of economic dynamism and strategic importance. It currently accounts for over one-third of the world's economic activity. By 2030, the region is expected to become home to two-thirds of the global middle class, and by 2040 projected to make up over half of the global economy. These remarkable statistics highlight the significance of the Indo-Pacific region for Canadian companies and offer unparalleled opportunities for expansion, market exploration, and strategic partnerships.

Launched in November 2022, Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy seeks to expand and deepen Canada's existing partnerships in the region. One of the five strategic objectives of the Strategy is to expand trade, investment and supply chain resilience, including through expanding our trade network at home and abroad, paving the way for long-term growth and prosperity.

As one of the key initiatives under the objective, Team Canada Trade Missions to the Indo-Pacific are an opportunity for Canadian companies to reinforce their reputation for adopting and modelling international best practices. The first full-scale Team Canada Trade Mission took place in Japan from October 29 to November 2, 2023 with a large, diverse, multisectoral delegation of 160 organizations.

In 2024, in addition to Malaysia and Vietnam, Team Canada Trade Missions will be led by Minister Ng to South Korea from April 21 to 25, and to Indonesia and the Philippines in the fall.

Malaysia boasts one of the most developed economies within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region and is an important trade and investment partner for Canada in Southeast Asia. With its resilient economic fundamentals, talent pool and infrastructure, Malaysia is an attractive regional hub for Canadian companies and investors.

Malaysia is one of Canada's largest bilateral merchandise trading partners in the ASEAN region and in 2022, bilateral trade was up 17% to $5.7 billion from $4.8 billion in 2021.

Vietnam is Canada's largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and one of the world's fastest growing economies and presents a wide array of commercial opportunities for Canadian businesses.

In 2022, two-way merchandise trade between Canada and Vietnam totaled $13.8 billion, up from $10.5 billion in 2021 and $8.9 billion in 2020, comprised mainly of imports from Vietnam (approximately 93% of the total).

Bilateral commercial exchanges between Canada and Malaysia and Vietnam are bolstered by the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The TCTM will provide a valuable opportunity for Canadian businesses to further grow their exports into these key markets and benefit from the increased market access provided by the CPTPP.

Who is eligible to participate?

Team Canada Trade Missions welcome export-ready Canadian companies of all sizes, including exporters from diverse backgrounds, with strong potential to address opportunities in Malaysia and/or Vietnam and generate tangible business outcomes. Team Canada Trade Missions also welcome provinces and territories, municipalities and other Canadian organizations, such as trade associations and chambers of commerce, looking to expand their reach and engagement in the Malaysian and Vietnamese markets.

Eligibility criteria for Canadian businesses

To be considered for the Business to Business (B2B) program stream, applicants must clearly demonstrate the following criteria:

• be export-ready and have demonstrated potential to succeed in the Malaysian and/or Vietnamese markets
• have a commercialized product or service or one close to being commercialized
• be able to demonstrate that the products and/or services they seek to promote through the trade mission will result in significant economic benefit for Canada (e.g. increased production in Canada, employment creation, technology transfer, increased R&D activity, etc.)
• have conducted research on foreign markets and opportunities, especially preparatory work for the Malaysian and/or Vietnamese markets
• have a realistic and credible international business plan
• have allocated resources (human, material, time, and financial) toward internationalization

Eligibility criteria for other organizations, such as representatives of provinces, territories, municipalities, trade portfolio partners, chambers of commerce and industry and trade associations:

• have an interest in the trade mission's sectors of focus
• have potential to contribute to fostering partnerships, knowledge exchange or economic development
• able to bring demonstrated value to the trade mission in terms of expertise, resources or collaboration opportunities

Program (in development)

The in-market program will visit commercial regions in Malaysia and Vietnam and will include:

• networking opportunities with Minister Ng and Malaysian and Vietnamese business leaders
• on-site business briefings by our Trade Commissioners including on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), senior officials, and key local industry players
• market overviews and/or roundtables round tables with local industry and experts pre-arranged business to business meetings (where applicable)
• inter-company meetings organized in advance (if applicable)

Considering the large size and the broad scope of the delegation for this trade mission, delegates will be divided into two program streams:

1. General program, including networking opportunities and market briefings and applies to delegates representing trade associations, chambers, government (federal, provincial, territorial, municipal) and companies that are already well established in the target market. Examples include companies that have an existing robust and successful network, either through a local office or an established relationship with a local sales representative or distributor.
2. Business to Business (B2B) program, which includes the general program as well as a tailored program of pre-arranged B2B meetings will be offered to a select number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based on a careful assessment of the SME's level of export and market readiness, local demand for the SME's product/service, and degree of sector-specific opportunities in the local market. Priority will be given to SMEs that operate in the priority sectors identified in the Event details section above, that identify as being owned by entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds, and that have strong potential to address opportunities in Malaysia and/or Vietnam and generate tangible business outcomes.

Each application will undergo an extensive assessment process to determine for which stream each organization may ultimately be selected for.

Opportunities for Canadian companies in Malaysia and Vietnam

Travel considerations and expenses

Interested in the Malaysia and Vietnam market, but unsure whether you are ready for this opportunity?

Take the Export Quiz

Register

As indicated above, all applications will be subject to a screening process to assess export readiness (for businesses), eligibility and suitability. To deliver a robust program that is beneficial to participating businesses, the Trade Commissioner Service reserves the right to select those Canadian export-ready companies and other organizations that are the most aligned with the sectoral focus and the objectives of the mission.

We anticipate a high demand for participation in this mission. To maximize the number of organizations able to participate, a maximum of two company representatives can register for the trade mission. Some specific program elements may have capacity limits that may only allow for the attendance of one representative per company.

If you are selected to be part of the business delegation, you will be provided with a detailed program and additional resources to assist you in organizing your travel arrangements.

Key contacts

Questions? Please reach out to the Trade Missions Team at trade.missions@international.gc.ca or the Trade Commissioner Service.