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| Malaysian exhibitors showcase garden furniture at Cologne Fair Posted: 05 Sep 2011 11:10 PM PDT Frankfurt: The Malaysian Timber Council (MTC), is showcasing their products at the prestigious Cologne garden furniture trade fair called SPOGA which runs from September 4 to 6.
Although the Malaysian exhibitors are participating on their own, the Frankfurt-based Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) said that it would be providing any support they may need. "This is an important event for the garden furniture trade and, if I am not mistaken, it is the biggest show of its kind worldwide," Matrade Commissioner in Germany, Mohd Sabri Abd Rahman, told Bernama during a recent interview.
The United States of America continued to be Malaysia's biggest market for this product category, absorbing some 50.458 million euros worth of products in the first five months of the current year, down 24.41 per cent from the same period last year. Other important markets in the top 10 importing nations in the sequence of order were Japan, Singapore, the U.K., Australia, Canada, UAE, Saudi Arabia, France and Germany. Sabri attributed the decline in Malaysia's exports of garden furniture and accessories to the slow economic recovery in many traditional markets.
"Expectations of continuing strong economic growth in Germany, for example, were dashed when the second quarter growth came in at a disappointing 0.1 percent. "Indeed, forecast from all the major economic institutes had predicted growth rates ranging from 0.2 per cent to 0.8 per cent. Nevertheless, Gross Domestic Product growth for 2011 as a whole is still expected to exceed 3 percent," Sabri said. Malaysian businessmen visiting German trade fairs have expressed concern over the economic uncertainties in many European countries, including Germany, plagued by the ongoing Euro crisis. "We have been seeing both positive and negative business and economic news about Germany in recent weeks, some of which may affect trade levels with Malaysia. "Local developments are, however, overshadowed by the ongoing Euro crisis arising from very high indebtedness in several Euro-zone member countries," said Sabri. According to Ifo, a German economic research institute, business confidence in Germany had dropped sharply in August amid fears that an overall slowdown in the global economy would negatively impact German exports. Despite the macro-economic uncertainties that characterise the present business mood in Germany, Malaysia's exports to Germany surged 29 per cent in the January-May period of this year. German imports from around the world grewat a slower rate of 19 per cent. Sabri predicted that based on the current slowdown in Germany's economic activity, Malaysia's export growth rate will not attain the record growth of 40 per cent of 2010, though Malaysia's exports will grow at "an above-average level". Sabri also believed that the present troubles faced by high-tech companies such as Infineon and Q-Cells will probably lead to an even greater transfer of production from Germany to Malaysia. -- BERNAMA |
| Djokovic in all-Serb clash, Federer, Tsonga through Posted: 05 Sep 2011 11:04 PM PDT NEW YORK: World number one Novak Djokovic set up an all-Serbian quarter-final at the US Open on Monday, while Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga advanced to a Grand Slam rematch.
Third-seeded Federer dismantled unseeded Argentinian Juan Monaco 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 to line up a clash with France's Tsonga, the man who rallied from two sets down to beat him in the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Tsonga, the 11th seed, doused the hopes of eighth-seeded American Mardy Fish 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Federer and Monaco also had to wait out the protracted battle between women's world number one Caroline Wozniacki and former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. Once they had, a focused Federer appeared determined not to stay up any later than he had to. He won the first set in 18 minutes and by the time it was all over he had blasted 42 winners — including 14 aces — past the hapless Monaco.
After breaking Monaco in the opening game of the second set, Federer won the next game with four straight aces. "It's only a game, only a few points, but it's nice to win it that way," Federer said. "It's tough for Juan," Federer said. "I've been in his position before. I thought he fought bravely. Sometimes it's not your time — tonight it was mine." Tsonga and Fish, in contrast, battled for almost four hours, both finding the going tough in the swirling afternoon winds. "Today was just really difficult because of Mardy, of course, because of the wind, because of all the conditions," said Tsonga, who also beat Federer in Montreal in August. For Fish, playing his first Grand Slam as America's top-ranked man, it was a bitter pill to swallow after a hardcourt victory and two finals appearances in the build-up to the US Open. Djokovic, playing out on the smaller Louis Armstrong Stadium, also struggled with the wind and with the unpredictable Dolgopolov in the early going, needing six set points — and saving four — to claim the marathon first-set tiebreaker. "I was confused on the court the first set," admitted Djokovic, who nevertheless notched his 61st match victory of the year with relative ease. "I think it was exciting for the crowd to watch because it was very close," he said. "But I think it was game-wise an ugly first set because I wasn't happy with the way I played." Ugly or not, the packed house loved it, and Djokovic said he was happy to play a match on the more intimate Armstrong court. "Sometimes it's really nice to be on the smaller court where the crowd is closer to the court where you can feel them." Two straight forehand errors from Djokovic gave Dolgopolov a 4-0 lead in the tiebreaker. A favorable net cord helped Djokovic take the next point to launch a run of five straight, and he finally finished it off when Dolgopolov sent a forehand long. From there Djokovic was in control, opening each of the next two sets with service breaks and rolling home from there. Djokovic said it would be difficult to play Tipsarevic in the quarter-finals, but the match-up has an upside. "There's going to be a Serbian in the semi-finals, which is great for our country," he said. Tipsarevic, 27, reached the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time, his 20 aces helping him prevail in a baseline battle against former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-7 (3/7), 6-5, 6-2. The quarter-final lineup will be completed on Tuesday, when defending champion and second seed Rafael Nadal takes on unseeded Gilles Muller of Luxembourg and world number four Andy Murray tackles young American Donald Young. Fifth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain faces America's former world number one Andy Roddick, and French 12th seed Gilles Simon meets big-serving American John Isner. -- AFP |
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