The reconstruction at the earthquake- and tsunami-hit areas in Japan will benefit several Malaysian industries, especially the sectors of wood, rubber and petrochemical products.

Malaysian Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Mukhriz Mahathir told the Malaysian Parliament on Tuesday that these materials were needed for the reconstruction of buildings, rescue operations and healthcare.

With the Japanese government allocating 4 trillion Japanese yen (48.8 billion U.S. dollars) to rebuild the disaster-torn areas, Malaysian companies would have vast opportunities to export wood, bricks and tiles to Japan.

Malaysia is a tropical country that produces hard wood, which is often used for the construction of houses. The country is also indeed the largest exporter of timber to Japan.

Yeah Kim Leng, a Malaysian economist, had in March told Xinhua that the post-quake rebuilding process in Japan would likely to boost the Asian regional economy when the demand for construction materials rose.

According to Mukhriz, the Malaysian-Japan trade recorded an average growth of 3.2 percent annually from 2006 to 2010, reaching 132.8 billion ringgit (44.4 billion U.S. dollars) last year. This was an increase of 23.3 percent from the 107.7 billion ringgit (36 billion U.S. dollars) recorded in 2009, the deputy minister added.

Meanwhile, the outgoing Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Masahiko Horie told reporters on another occasion that Japan would like to assist Malaysia in becoming a high-income developed nation by 2020.

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