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BANGKOK: Malaysia is willing to share its experience with Thailand on trade regulation in the franchise industry, said Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick.

Ewon said as the Minister responsible for franchising, the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (Kuskop) is ready to share his experience, especially in terms of legislation in the franchise sector.

“I had the opportunity to discuss with the counterpart of the Thai Trade Minister Phumtham Vejjayachai and was informed that in Thailand there is no specific legislation or governing law for the franchise sector.

“Therefore, I informed Phumtham that Malaysia has the respective legislation, the Franchise Act 1998, to regulate the franchise industry and we are ready to share experience if needed,” he told Bernama here Saturday.

Ewon, who has been heading the Malaysian delegation at the International Franchise Trade Mission in Bangkok since Thursday, discussed trade cooperation in the franchise sector and the development of small and medium entrepreneurs with Phumtham, who is also Deputy Prime Minister.

“We both agreed that departments and agencies under the ministry need to follow up on this discussion with B2B (business-to-business) cooperation.

“I also welcome the cooperation between the Malaysia Franchise Association (MFA) and the Franchise and Licensing Association of Thailand to develop the franchise sector in both countries,” he said.

Ewon said he was confident that Kuskop would succeed in reaching the RM30 million investment target in conjunction with the Thailand Franchise Business Opportunities Expo (TFBO) 2024 at the Bangkok International Trade & Convention Centre (Bitec).

He said a total of seven Malaysian brand companies from the food, education, technology, and services sectors had participated in this mission at TFBO 2024.

“I think this trade mission is a successful mission because the average company that participated this time has expressed their appreciation to the government and the ministry for providing this platform as a new chapter for them to introduce products and services as well as allowing them to find new trading partners,” he said.

Ewon also held a meeting with industry players, the Malaysian diaspora, and Malawakil Bangkok, in addition to a working visit to the Cafe Amazon franchise company owned by a Thai company, and also to Laundrybar, a Malaysian franchise company that has been operating in Thailand.

Also participating in the International Franchise Trade Mission for four days in Bangkok are Malaysian Franchise Association (MFA) Chairman Datuk Dr Radzali Hassan and Perbadanan Nasional Bhd (Pernas) Chairman Datuk Hazimah Zainuddin.