About CIIM

About Consortium of Indian Industries in Malaysia (CIIM)

Consortium of Indian Industries in Malaysia (CIIM) or perhaps more aptly “Corporate India In Malaysia” was set up to be the Corporate face of India in Malaysia.
A need was felt by the Indian companies operating in Malaysia, to have a common platform to share information, opportunities, address issues, brainstorm, network and establish linkages between Indian companies and various stakeholders in the Government and Industry in Malaysia.
CII (Confederation of Indian Industries) the apex body representing Indian industry, then initiated this process and the inception of CIIM took place.
(CIIM) is a registered national level body comprising member companies originating from India and operating in Malaysia. Members of CIIM are CEO’s of corporate entities representing various segments of the Indian industry including Pharmaceuticals, Automotive, Manufacturing, ICT, Banking, Railways, Airlines, Trading etc.
Member companies include large conglomerates as well as SME’s like TCS, Tech Mahindra, Tamco (L&T group), Recron (Reliance group), Biocon, Thermax, Bry-Air…to name a few

CIIM was formally launched in Kuala Lumpur by the then Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and Industry of India, Mr. Kamal Nath in Dec 2005 in the presence of ITC Chairman & then Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) President, Mr. Y. C. Deveshwar and many other corporate leaders and government officials.
Since inception, CIIM has been working on promoting trade and investments between Malaysia and India. CIIM has organized dialogue sessions with both, the Indian and Malaysian Prime Ministers, besides working closely with other stake holders like the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. CIIM also organized several business conferences on highlighting various business opportunities arising out of the Malaysia India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and regular networking sessions with business and Govt entities.

H.E. B.N. Reddy – High Commissioner of India

H.E. B.N. Reddy belongs to the 1993 batch of the Indian Foreign Service. He has had varied experience of diplomatic assignments, having served in Indian Missions in Indonesia (1995-1998), Lao PDR (1998-2002), US (2005-2008), Malaysia (2008-2011), Switzerland (2013-2016) and Nigeria (2017-2018). He was the Chef de Cabinet in the Office of Minister for External Affairs from 2011 to May 2013. He headed the International Cooperation Division in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas from February 2019 to 15th September 2021.
Mr. Reddy did his Intermediate schooling from Andhra Loyola College, graduated from B.I.T.S Pilani in 1987 in Mechanical Engineering, and M.Tech (Thermal Engineering) from IIT, Mumbai in 1991.
H.E. B.N. Reddy was born on 1st June 1966. He speaks Telugu, Hindi, Sanskrit and Bahasa Indonesia. He is married to Mrs. Lalita Devi and they have two children, one son and one daughter.

Datuk Umang Sharma – Chairman

Datuk Umang Sharma is the Founder Chairman of CIIM since its inception in December 2005. He has been very instrumental in promoting Malaysia as an investment destination to Indian businessmen in India and also visiting Indian delegations. For his contributions in Malaysia, he was bestowed with the PMW Award from Federal Territories, which carries the title DATUK.

Datuk Umang led a delegation of Indian Corporate CEO’s for a dialogue session with the Indian Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi in Nov, 2015.
Under his Chairmanship, CIIM organized another event to promote Malaysia India CECA with the Prime Minister YAB Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak, on Nov 22, 2011.

Radhey Shyam Agrawal - Vice Chairman

RS Agrawal is an entrepreneur with a diversified group of companies in Malaysia. He has been in business for over 30 years, growing AGL into one of the region’s leading suppliers of copper, zinc and other scrap metals. His latest venture is Delhi Royale, one of the city’s best known fine dining Indian restaurants.

Mr. Suraj Arora – Secretary

Suraj Arora is an accomplished banker with over 26 years of corporate experience , and with functional expertise across Mergers & Acquisitions, Fund Raising, Mentoring New Ventures, Start-up investments, Corporate & Investment Banking, Remittance and Digital Banking. Suraj was the Country Head for ICICI Bank in Malaysia, serving the Bank for 17 years.
Suraj is Managing Director and Co founder of KL Tech City, Managing Partner of Deutsche Malayan Ventures, Executive Director of Hatcher Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Managing partner in Village Groupe.
Suraj has an MBA degree from Panjab University, Chandigarh and is a Mechanical Engineer from Delhi College of Engineering, Delhi, India.

Mr Shaji N Meethal - Treasurer

Shaii N M is a visionary entrepreneur started his technology group of companies in 1998 in Kualalumpur with various technology based business operating in Malaysia, Singapore, UAE and in India. Focussing on Electronic Security, Artificial Intelligence, Internet Of Things, Industry 4.0 and SaaS platform development to mention few.

Ashok K. Ramavath – Committee Member

Avows Technologies was founded by Ashok K. Ramavath, the pioneering and visionary entrepreneur, in the year 2008. Ashok brings with him 20 years of rich and wide experience in technology and business consulting. With his keen interest in developing next-generation leadership, he has built strong technology teams in Avows from the ground up to cater to the challenging and growing requirements of its clients in South East Asia. His key strengths in achieving the best results in service delivery and financial performance enabled Avows to build large and strong teams of 100+ in the past.
Ashok is a firm believer in Corporate Social Responsibility. He initiated focused interactions with industry leaders to generate high-value solutions and service offerings in the IT & ITES space from Avows. Avows is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with its offices/development centers in Singapore, Indonesia, India, the USA, and UAE.
Ashok was recognized for his contribution to HR during Asia’s Best Employer Brand awards in 2010. Ashok was also recognized as “CEO of the Year 2013”.
An avid Golfer and a technocrat-turned-commerce post-graduate, Ashok is passionate about making Avows a strong player in the global technology industry.

Mr. Anil Mungad - Committee Member

Mr. Anil Mungad is Chartered Accountant (ICAI), Company Secretary (ICSI) with Science & Law Graduation having 30 yrs experience in Finance & Accounts. He has done ECFO program from Stanford Graduate School of Business, USA & was selected by CEO Insight Asia magazine among Top10 CFOs from Malaysia in 2022.
He has been with Reliance Group, India since 2002, currently he is CFO of Recron (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, KL & RP Chemicals (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Kuantan since 2018, prior to that He was Senior Vice President- Commercial (Polymer Chain) at Mumbai.

Mr. Ashwin Seetharaman Committee Member

Chief Operating Officer of Sempurna Group of Companies, with Bachelor's degree from Monash University Australia and a MBA from University of Nottingham. A decade in specialising in Non-ferrous metal refining, manufacturing and trading industry.

Holding company of Sempurna Group of Companies, established in the 1950s, it is the pioneer of Non-ferrous metal trading in Malaysia with vast experience in exports and imports. Diversified into manufacturing of metals in 2003, the group has 3 large facilities within Malaysia involved in processing and refining niche non ferrous metals catering to export markets such as Japan, Korea, India, and China.

Mr. Ramesh Chander Goel – Committee Member

Mr. Ramesh Chander Goel graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Commerce in 1970. He is results-driven and focused to perform efficiently even under high pressure situation. Being a Marketing and Technical Director for more than 35 years in the industry of Non-Ferrous metal he has an extensive experience in Coordinating sales and marketing strategies and initiatives that position businesses towards optimal growth.
Core competencies in the area of business development include Sales/Marketing, Network Security, Budget Planning, Strategy Design/Implementation, and Relationship Management. Developed plans and programs designed for the continuous improvement of current processes and workflow. He was a Promoting and Managing Director in Dinesh International ltd and Vipin Enterprises (1986-2005). He was a pioneer in Import of Non-Ferrous metal industry in India. In 2005 he became Promoter and Director in Vaneeta Impex Private Limited until 2015. He Build, deliver and track strategic account plan, forecast and track report key information for optimal operation of Business.
He became a major shareholder and Technical Director in Anyoli Sdn Bhd. He is responsible for the entire enterprise relationship with global clients and management in growth of revenue and deliver of service into the account. He is an essential part of the company since 2015 to till date.

Chandramohan Krishnan – Committee Member

Chandramohan Krishnan is the Head of Operations of Tata Consultancy Services Malaysia since June 2018, overseeing the daily functioning of operations, ensuring efficiency, productivity and quality standards are met. His career started as a Project Manager in Invensys India Private Limited (affiliated with Schneider Electric) and continued his growth as a Relationship Manager in TCS America, and Site Manager in TCS Chennai, India.
Hailing from the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), holding a bachelor’s degree in Instrumentation Engineering and Mathematics, Chandramohan has developed a multifaceted skill set, focusing on leadership and team management, whilst deploying his expertise in engineering.

Akhil Gupta – Committee Member

Akhil Gupta is the Founder & Group CEO of a conglomerate of high-growth companies that have a global headcount surpassing 800 professionals, across 18 countries. As an Angel Investor & Business Growth Specialist, he has over 23 years of experience in the IT Infrastructure, Digital Automation, and Human Resources industry.
Chief Executive officer, Total IT Global Chief Executive Officer & Investor, Talbotiq Technologies Shareholder & Board Director, Aisling Group of Companies Promoter, Unique Palate

Akhil also an active member in the following associations:

PIKOM (National Tech Association of Malaysia), Councillor - 2023 to Present
GBS Malaysia, Committee Member – 2022 to Present
Consortium of Industries in Malaysia, Committee Member – 2022 to Present
Outsourcing Malaysia, Committee Member – 2013 to 2015

CIIM Objectives

The objectives for which CIIM was established was to address issues, brainstorm, network and establish linkages between Indian companies and various stakeholders in the Government and Industry in Malaysia, under the patronage of the High Commission of India. Further it helps for the promotion, protection and advancement of all interests affecting trade and industry of Indian industries based in Malaysia.

Act as a catalyst for promoting business and trade among Indian companies and Indian JV’s in Malaysia

Provide a framework for Indian companies for consultation and engagement in activities related to trade and investments in Malaysia.

Provide inputs and serve as a reference point to the Indian High Commission on matters relating to Indian companies and JV’s in Malaysia.

Support the Indian Government’s and the High Commission of India’s initiatives to enhance and strengthen bilateral linkages between India and Malaysia.

Network with Malaysian Government, concerned nodal agencies and Malaysian companies to provide Indian industry views and feedback on improving bilateral relations.