20/09/2012 (Borneo Post) - Several French delegates led by Martine Dorance, the French ambassador to Malaysia, arrived in the Land Below the Wind yesterday to explore business and collaboration activities at the state.

Dorance said the visit was to inspect the market in Sabah and to explore opportunities for collaboration.

She said this during a dialogue with Sabah United Chinese Chamber Of Commerce (SUCCC), headed by its president Datuk Seri Panglima Gan Sau Wah here yesterday.

Dorance said there were currently more than 1,000 Malaysian students studying in France.

“We also try to promote French language in some schools,” she said, such as the boarding schools for the elite.

Meanwhile, Michel Lozac’h, managing director of MFCCI, said there were currently 240 members in MFCCI, the majority of whom were in Kuala Lumpur and Peninsular Malaysia, in the heavy and medium enterprises.

He disclosed that there were around 3,000 French nationals living in Malaysia, the majority of them are in Kuala Lumpur whereas around 200 of them are in Kota Kinabalu.

Lozac’h added that France was actively involved in the oil and gas sector and there could be collaborations with Sabah in view of the oil and gas industry that was picking up here.

On the other hand, Christophe Morchoine, economic counselor at the Economic Department at the Embassy of France in Malaysia, said his country needed massive amount of refined palm oil which was procured from the Netherlands.

“We hope we can one day buy cheaper refined palm oil from Malaysia, but currently Malaysia does not produce refined palm oil.”

Also present were Megali Voisin-Ratelle, senior trade advisor on infrastructures, transports, industries division at the French Trade Commission UBIFRANCE, and Jacques Leizerovici, general manager of Novotel Hotel in Kota Kinabalu and Clement Gil from Rafele International.