# MATRADE — Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation: Exports Out, Not Investment In

> Agency entity page for MATRADE, Malaysia's national trade promotion agency — its statutory basis, what it actually does for exporters, its overseas trade office network, and how its remit differs from MIDA and MITI.

- Category: government
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-07-24
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/government/matrade

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Ask a first-time exporter which government agency handles their trade fair
booth, and about half will say MIDA. MIDA doesn't. That's MATRADE's job —
and the two agencies work opposite ends of the same trade relationship.

## At a glance

| | |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) |
| Type | Statutory agency, incorporated under its own Act |
| Governing Act | Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation Act 1992, Act 490 |
| In force | 1 March 1993 |
| Reports to | Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) |
| Core remit | Promoting Malaysian exports and helping Malaysian companies enter overseas markets |
| Overseas network | Reported at 47 trade offices as of early 2026 |
| Headquarters | Menara MATRADE, Kuala Lumpur |
| Website | `matrade.gov.my` |

## What MATRADE actually does

MATRADE's own site frames its purpose simply: helping Malaysian companies
"carve new frontiers in global markets" and positioning Malaysia as a major
trading nation. In practice, that mandate runs through a handful of
concrete services:

- **Trade fairs.** MATRADE organises and manages Malaysia's participation in
  international trade fairs, handling space reservations, stand design and
  construction, pre-event publicity and buyer-meeting schedules.
- **Trade and export-acceleration missions.** Run jointly with MITI and, at
  times, MIDA, these missions take Malaysian companies to existing and
  emerging markets to build contacts with foreign officials and buyers.
- **Business matching.** MATRADE pairs Malaysian companies with foreign
  importers looking to source from Malaysia.
- **Market intelligence.** Commercial intelligence, market research and
  country-level information, disseminated to give exporters a competitive
  edge.
- **Financial assistance.** The **Market Development Grant (MDG)** is a
  reimbursable grant that helps exporters offset the cost of promoting
  Malaysian products or services overseas.

None of that is investment promotion, and none of it is trade policy. It is
export promotion, specifically — which is exactly where the confusion with
MIDA and MITI tends to start.

## MATRADE vs MIDA vs MITI

All three sit in the same institutional family, but they don't do the same
job.

| Agency | Direction | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **MITI** | Policy | Sets trade and industrial policy, negotiates free trade agreements; does not itself approve or promote individual deals |
| **MIDA** | Inbound | Promotes and evaluates **investment coming into** Malaysia's manufacturing and services sectors |
| **MATRADE** | Outbound | Promotes **Malaysian exports going out** to overseas markets |

A useful shorthand: MIDA faces investors walking in; MATRADE faces
exporters walking out. MITI sits above both, setting the policy each one
executes. All three are formally connected — MITI's own listing of the
Acts it administers names Act 490 as MATRADE's governing legislation,
alongside Act 397 for MIDA.

## The overseas office network

MATRADE's main delivery mechanism abroad is its network of overseas trade
offices, each headed by a trade commissioner. As of early 2026, that
network was reported at **47 overseas trade offices**.

In April 2026, MATRADE's chairman, Reezal Merican Naina Merican, described
a shift in how those offices are used: rather than functioning purely as
promotional posts, they are being repositioned as market-intelligence
"frontline hubs" — tracking policy changes, shipping-route disruptions and
emerging sourcing gaps abroad, and feeding that intelligence back to
Malaysian exporters navigating a more volatile global trade environment.

## 2026 priorities

For 2026, MATRADE's chief executive, Abu Bakar Yusof, set out a roadmap of
**203 trade development and promotion programmes** intended to assist
**13,400 Malaysian companies**, organised around five pillars:

1. **Business continuity and human capital development** — building
   workforce capability for AI and shifting trade dynamics.
2. **Strategic collaborations** — deepening partnerships with private-sector
   and financial partners.
3. **ESG and sustainability** — expanding programmes that prepare exporters
   for environmental, social and governance compliance demanded by overseas
   buyers.
4. **Digitalisation** — digital trade platforms for exporters.
5. **Market diversification** — targeting emerging markets in Latin America,
   Central and South Asia, West Asia and Africa alongside traditional
   partners.

## Common mistakes

**Going to MATRADE for an investment incentive.** MATRADE promotes what
Malaysian companies sell abroad. Manufacturing licences, tax incentives and
inbound investment facilitation run through MIDA, not MATRADE.

**Treating MATRADE as a policy-setting body.** MATRADE executes export
promotion programmes; it does not negotiate free trade agreements or set
industrial policy. That work sits with MITI.

**Assuming MATRADE only serves large exporters.** Its stated 2026 roadmap
explicitly targets thousands of companies across programmes, missions and
grants — the Market Development Grant in particular exists to make overseas
promotion affordable for smaller exporters, not just established ones.

## Where the related rules live

| Topic | Article |
| --- | --- |
| The investment-promotion counterpart facing inbound investors | [MIDA — Malaysian Investment Development Authority](/en/government/mida) |
| The ministry both agencies sit under | [MITI — Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry](/en/government/miti) |
| Which agency to approach, in what order | [Investment agency directory](/en/business/investment-agency-directory) |

## What's next

If your question is about selling Malaysian products or services overseas —
a trade fair, a mission, market intelligence, or a grant toward promotion
costs — MATRADE is the agency. If it's about bringing investment or a
factory into Malaysia, start instead with [MIDA](/en/government/mida); if
it's a policy or free-trade-agreement question, that sits with
[MITI](/en/government/miti).

## Sources

- Act 490 — Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation Act 1992 — https://lom.agc.gov.my/act-detail.php?act=490 (Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia)
- List of Acts under MITI — https://www.miti.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/2681 (Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry)
- Home — MATRADE — https://www.matrade.gov.my/en (Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation)
- MATRADE steps up initiatives to enhance Malaysia's global trade presence in 2026 — https://www.malaysiasme.com.my/matrade-steps-up-initiatives-to-enhance-malaysias-global-trade-presence-in-2026/ (Malaysia SME)
- Matrade turns 47 offices abroad into 'frontline hubs' to shield exporters from trade turmoil, says Reezal Merican — https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/04/21/matrade-turns-47-offices-abroad-into-frontline-hubs-to-shield-exporters-from-trade-turmoil-says-reezal-merican/217151 (Malay Mail)
- Market Development Grant (MDG) — https://www.matrade.gov.my/en/export-to-the-world/step-6-financial-assistance/market-development-grant-mdg (Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation)

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License: CC BY-SA 4.0