PayPal data shows e-commerce is heating up export trade routes in Malaysia, with hottest opportunities within Asia

Global revenue opportunities aplenty for local SMEs, as online exports continue to experience high-growth

Malaysia, 2 April 2014 – PayPal, a leader in online payments, today released data underlining the success and massive growth potential for local businesses, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), to trade globally online, with the hottest growth opportunities coming from within Asia.

PayPal’s Cross Border Insights 2013 found that online exports from Malaysia on PayPal’s global payment platform saw strong growth of 29 per cent year-on-year (YoY). The same year, Malaysia’s overall exports grew by only 2.4 per cent or RM17.17 billion to RM719.81 billion. Cross-border trade, projected to reach over US$307 billion by 2018, is a quarter of PayPal’s business today. This data underscores an opportunity for local businesses to extend their reach and go where the demand is - to millions consumers around the world, without the costs of traditional geo-expansion.

In 2013, PayPal merchants in Malaysia saw healthy, double digit growth for top online export corridors; the United States (20% YoY), Australia (50% YoY), Singapore (38% YoY), United Kingdom (18% YoY) and Canada (26% YoY). This is in contrast to single-digit or declining growth in Malaysia’s overall top export corridors last year – Singapore (5.1% YoY), China (9.2% YoY), Japan (-4.4% YoY), United States (-4.5% YoY) and Thailand (6.1% YoY).

Furthermore, while overall the top export corridors for Malaysia were predominantly within Asia, the top online export corridors were dominated by markets outside of Asia, including the United States, Australia, United Kingdom and Canada. This highlights how Malaysian merchants exporting online are able to tap into traditionally bigger consumer markets with larger populations of technologically savvy online shoppers. As the internet transforms the face and form of retail, cross-border shopping is only projected to grow. This presents a clear opportunity for local businesses in Malaysia to embrace e-commerce in order to create new opportunities and become competitive players in the global marketplace.

Opportunities for local merchants continue to be the hottest in Asia, which spells good news for Malaysian businesses who already have longstanding export ties within the region. The fastest growing PayPal Malaysia export markets in 2013 were Brunei Darussalam (96% YoY), India (78% YoY), China (58% YoY), Indonesia (56% YoY) and Hong Kong (55% YoY). Large emerging-market economies such as India, China and Indonesia were also among Malaysia’s top overall export corridors for 2013, however growing at much slower rates than online exports did, at -12.2%, 9.2% and 19.9% year-on-year respectively.

As Asia sees a fast-growing and more connected middle class, eMarketer projects that more than 44 per cent of the world’s digital buyers will reside in Asia Pacific, nearly two and a half times the size of that in Western Europe, which will have the second-largest number of digital buyers. With more Asian consumers moving online for their purchasing needs, Malaysian businesses are in a unique position in which they can continue to focus exporting in a region they have strong ties with, while enhancing growth opportunities in Asia by building up a robust online strategy.

“The international demand we are seeing is a clear signal to businesses in Malaysia to look for new ways to grow their sales by expanding across borders. This is especially so for SMEs who form the backbone of the Malaysian economy. As a globally trusted payment platform, we connect local merchants of all sizes with over 143 million active PayPal users in 193 markets worldwide, enabling them to sell internationally with ease and convenience,” said Audrey Ottevanger, Country Manager for Malaysia and Thailand.

She adds, “It has never been easier for consumers to shop online directly from merchants around the world. Coupled with the new government initiatives in Malaysia to boost local SME capabilities to internationalise, there is no better time for Malaysian businesses to ride the e-commerce wave, and tap into a very lucrative global revenue channel.”

Increased demand for local products around the world
Overall, exports in Malaysia have traditionally been dominated by oil and manufacturing categories. However, Malaysian businesses exporting online have found significant growth opportunities and global demand in non-oil and manufacturing categories, particularly in consumer retail, signalling opportunities to diversity the range of goods and services being exported around the world. Malaysian businesses found the biggest opportunities in exporting Cellphones (120% YoY), Travel Services (85% YoY) and Fashion (79% YoY).

Merchants like Wan Zaki Wan Taib, Founder and Executive Director of Jelitasara Corporates Sdn Bhd.com which sells hijab both online and in physical stores, have adopted cross-border e-commerce as a sustainable business strategy. “Today with the internet, shoppers are no longer constrained by physical borders and can explore fashion around the world. By exploring the e-commerce route and integrating an internationally-trusted payment solution on Jelitasara.com, I was able to expand my business globally so that Muslim women around the world can follow global fashion trends.”

He adds, “Running an e-commerce business, we are always concerned about fraudulent transactions online, especially with a significant number of customers coming from overseas. PayPal’s Seller Protection policy helps reduce that risk and keep our transactions safe. In addition, customers all over the world recognise the PayPal brand and know that they can make purchases on my website more securely and conveniently, from the comfort of their homes.”

Alex Cheong, Founder of Web2ship.com, a Malaysian business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce service provider shared, “Web2ship.com processes shipments for clients in more than 100 different countries around the world. Being in the B2B market for over 10 years, we understand the challenges faced by online sellers when it comes to shipping their products internationally. By offering PayPal as a payment solution we have been able to provide a more reliable service to our global clients enabling them to make payments securely. PayPal helps me accept payments from clients fast, conveniently and safely, with no sign-up or monthly fees, as well as in multiple currencies to meet the needs of  our international customers.”

PayPal continues to lead in e-commerce globally, processing a total payment volume of US$180 billion in 2013, a 24 per cent increase from the previous year. Cross-border trade accounted for approximately 25 per cent of PayPal’s total payment volume last year.

PayPal 的数据显示电子商务推动马来西亚的出口贸易路线，最红火的商机依然来自亚洲
随着在线出口继续经历高成长，本地中小型企业将享有大量全球营收良机

马来西亚 4 月 2 日讯 – PayPal，即在线支付交易的领导者，于今天发布的数据显示本地中小型企业(SMEs)在进行在线全球贸易方面，具有成功和大幅度成长潜能，而亚洲正是成长良机最红火的区域。

PayPal 的 2013 年跨境分析调查(Cross Border Insights 2013)结果反映了，马来西亚通过 PayPal 之全球支付平台进行的在线出口额，取得年对年 29 巴仙的强劲成长率。在同一年，马来西亚的整体出口额仅增长 2.4 巴仙或 RM171 亿 7 千万至 RM7198 亿 1 千万 。跨境贸易额预料将于 2018 年  之前超逾 3070 亿美元，占目的 PayPal 营业额的四分之一。该数据显示本地商家将有机会扩大它们涉足的范围和进军有需求的地方 – 即迎向全球数以百万计的消费人，而无需负担传统的地域扩展成本。

在 2013 年，马来西亚的 PayPal 商家见证了对各顶尖在线出口通道的健康，双位数成长率；美国(年对年 20％)，澳洲(年对年 50％)，新加坡(年对年 38％)，英国(年对年 18%) 和加拿大(年对年 26%)。相比之下，在去年，马来西亚对各顶尖出口通道的成长率为单位数或下跌 - 新加坡(年对年 5.1％)，中国(年对年 9.2％)，日本(年对年 -4.4％)，美国(年对年 -4.5%) 和泰国(年对年 6.1%) 。

此外，尽管马来西亚的顶尖出口通道主要是位于亚洲，其顶尖在线出口通道则受到亚洲以外的国家支配，包括美国，澳洲，英国和加拿大。这显示马来西亚的在线出口商将可进军科技先进之在线购物人口更多的传统上更庞大之消费人市场。随着互联网改变了零售领域的面貌和形式，预料跨境购物势必取得成长。这将给马来西亚的本地商家带来明显的良机，以迎向电子商务，并创造新的机会和崛起为全球市场的具竞争力业者。

本地商家的良机继续是亚洲最红火的，这给已经在本区域拥有长久出口关系的马来西亚商家带来好消息。在 2013 年，PayPal 马来西亚的最迅速成长出口市场是汶莱(年对年 96%)，印度(年对年 78%)，中国(年对年 58%)，印尼(年对年 56%) 和香港(年对年 55%)。在 2013 年最大的新兴市场经济体如印度，中国和印尼也是马来西亚的顶尖整体出口通道，然而，其成长率比在线出口缓慢得多，分别是年对年-12.2%，9.2% 和 19.9% 。

随着亚洲出现增长迅速和联系更佳发中产阶级，eMarketer 预测有超过 44 巴仙的世界数码采购者将居住于亚洲太平洋，人数几乎相当于拥有第二多  数码采购者之西欧的 2.5 倍。随着更多亚洲消费人通过在线方式购物，马来西亚商家目前处于一个独一无二的形式，即他们可继续专注于出口至他们拥有极佳联系的区域，并通过实施强劲的在线策略以提升成长机会。

"我们所见证的国际需求给马来西亚商家带来一个探讨通过扩展至其他国家以提升营业额之新途径的清楚讯号，对于作为马来西亚之经济支柱的中小型企业更是如此。作为一个备受全球信赖的支付平台，我们联系全球各地 193 个市场规模不尽相同的本地商家，其中超过 1 亿 4 千 3 百万名是活跃的 PayPal 用户，让它们简易且方便地进行国际交易, " PayPal驻马来西亚和泰国经理 Audrey Ottevanger 指出。

她补充道，"消费人直接通过在线向世界各国的商家购物已变得空前容易。加上马来西亚落实新的的政府倡议以提升中小型企业迈向国际化的能力，目前是马来西亚商家把握电子商务趋势，并进军回报可观之全球营收管道的最佳时机，"

世界各国对本地产品的需求更殷切

整体上，马来西亚的出口传统上是以石油和制造业主导。然而，马来西亚商家的在线出口已带来显著的成长机会和非石油和制造业的全球需求，尤其是在消费人零售领域，这显示它们可多元化至输出各种货品和服务至世界各地。马来西亚商家已找到输出手机(年对年 120%)，旅游服务(年对年 85%) 和时装(年对年 79%) 的最大商机。

多位商家如通过在线和实体店售卖头巾之 JelitaSara Corporates 私人有限公司的创办人兼执行董事 Wan Zaki Wan Taib 等，已采用跨境电子商务为一种永续业务策略。"在目前，互联网购物者无需面对实体国境的局限，他们可探索来自世界各地的时装。通过开拓电子商务路线和结合一个备受国际信赖的支付解决方案于 JelitaSara.com，我们可扩展业务至世界各地，让全球的女回教徒能够赶上全球时装潮流，"

他补充道，"本公司经营电子商务业务，因此一直都关注在线的欺诈交易，尤其是我们有大量海外顾客。PayPal 的卖家保护政策有助降低风险和确保交易的安全。此外，世界各地的顾客也确认 PayPal 品牌和晓得他们可在家里轻松写意，高枕无忧和方便地通过我们的网站采购。"

Web2ship.com，即一家马来西亚企业对企业(B2B)电子商务服务提供商，的创办人 Alex Cheong 表示，"Web2ship.com 可处理为全球各地超过 100 个不同国家之客户寄货的交易。我们投入 B2B 市场已超过 10 年，因此了解在线卖家在寄货至其他国家方面所面对的挑战。通过提供 PayPal 作为一项支付方案，我们能够为全球客户提供更可靠的服务，让他们可安全地支付。PayPal 协助我迅速，方便和安全地收到客户的付款，无需登记或缴付月费，更无需兑换不同的货币，以迎合国际顾客的需求。"

PayPal 仍然是全球电子商务的领导者，它在在 2013 年处理了总额达 1800 亿美元的支付交易，比前一年增长了 24 巴仙。在去年，跨境贸易占 PayPal 支付交易总额的25 巴仙。