KUALA LUMPUR: Export-ready Malaysian companies have been urged to leverage business opportunities from the preparation works by France for Paris Olympics and Paralympics 2024, which is scheduled from July 26 2024 to August 11 2024.
The Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) said areas of opportunities included information and communications technology, food and beverages, consulting in construction and professional services, security, transport and event management and halal transformation.
Paris Olympics and Paralympics 2024 is scheduled from July 26 till August 11 that year.
The Olympic Delivery Authority, a key governance structure established by the French government, is responsible for organising this largest sports event in the world.
They are tasked with delivering the Olympic and Paralympic venues as well as infrastructures and are also responsible to ensure the sustenance of these transformations post-Paris 2024, signalling continued opportunities even after the sporting event ends.
Matrade Europe and Americas section director Razida Hanim Abdul Razak said with this in mind, Malaysian companies must utilise the event as a stepping stone to accessing France, with the intent of maintaining their long-term footprint.
"In the previous Olympic Games in Tokyo, Malaysia was involved in facilitating the preparation of Japanese food outlets to be halal-ready. We hope this time around, we would be able to emulate this and even go beyond by offering support in other sectors.
"With the current challenging global economic landscape with disruptions in the supply chain as well as geopolitical issues, we think we can strengthen the Malaysia-France collaboration for mutual benefits through the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris," she said in a statement today.
Matrade said overall, the value of tenders offered from the organisation of the Olympics and Paralympics 2024 stood at five billion euro (RM24 billion).
Thus far, 25 per cent of the contracts valued at 164.4 million euro (RM789.12 million) have been awarded to companies including small and medium enterprises from various economic segments.
Matrade trade commissioner in Frankfurt Zuhaila Sedek said it was pivotal for Malaysian companies to prepare themselves by adhering to the sectoral rules and regulations imposed by the European Union (EU).
"Although works on the Olympic Village have commenced, there are still pockets of opportunities for Malaysian companies through the tenders that are made available for all. We would suggest for Malaysian exporters work with a local partner in France due to the language barrier and for operational support.
"Hopefully, by having more Malaysian companies' footprint in France, ultimately there will be more local companies who are EU-ready, which just means they are worldwide-ready too," Zuhaila said.