KUALA LUMPUR: Businessmen here should make full use of the diversity of Malaysian society by forming multiracial teams?when venturing into foreign markets.

Housing and Local Govern-ment Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said Malaysian businessmen could work together and use different approaches based on the team members’ cultural background for the benefit of the whole group when exploring markets overseas.

Citing an example, he said these Malaysian teams?could be formed to market halal food to China where the number of Muslims exceeds the number in Malaysia.

The Malaysian Chinese can establish the network in China and work together with their Muslim partners (to provide halal food).

Similarly, such the multiracial teams can be formed when exploring markets in India and Arab countries?he told a press conference after opening the 2005 China Guangxi Commodities Exhibition and Investment Conference at the Putra World Trade Centre yesterday.

The four-day exhibition, which began yesterday, is organised by the People’s Republic of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China with the Economic and Commercial Counsellor's Office of the Chinese Embassy here and the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce.

It aims to showcase the province’s products and highlight investment opportunities.

Ong, who is MCA president, also urged Malaysian businessmen to try to capture part of the huge Chinese market by cutting down manufacturing cost and improving the quality of their products to create a competitive edge.

China, with a population of 1.3 billion, is the world’s biggest market and it is so close to Malaysia.

It is a big market for everybody so we should make full use of this opportunity?