Mapping Malaysia's Resource Centres

10 Investment for Industrial Development Located in the heart of Southeast Asia, Malaysia is at the centre of one of the fastest-growing economic regions in the world. Over the last 20 years, Southeast Asia has recorded an average GDP growth of over 5% per annum. Strong ties with ASEAN, in addition to a strategic location and infrastructure, offer a valuable platform for businesses looking to further enhance regional relations and reduce costs. By establishing operations in Malaysia, both foreign and local investors have the ability to capture growth opportunities and gain immediate market access. A population size of nearly 4 billion stands as a potential market for investors by way of the extensive network of 14 bilateral and regional Free Trade Agreements (FTA) Malaysia has with countries such as Australia, Chile, India, New Zealand and Turkey. Moreover, Malaysia’s established local supply chains are well-integrated into the global value chain and are an undeniable competitive advantage. Supported by a strong and matured local engineering support industry, investors seeking to expand their production capacity into the country can do so efficiently and with ease. Furthermore, international investors will find communication and creating an ideal business environment to be effortless, as Malaysia’s young talent pool are adaptable and highly proficient in the English language. Malaysia is a diversified economy, leveraging on an ecosystem approach to promote and facilitate investments into the country. Currently, Malaysia is focusing on expanding its economy towards more complex, knowledge- intensive and high-end products and services. The recently launched Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 (SPV2030) defines Malaysia’s aspirations to achieve sustainable growth and to transform into a high-value nation that is competitive, dignified and of high integrity. Under the Vision, 15 proposed Key Economic Growth Activities (KEGAS) with the potential to drive future economic growth were identified. This Vision complements Malaysia’s move towards the implementation of Industry 4.0, also known as Industry4WRD. Malaysia is actively developing catalytic industries, namely Electrical and Electronics (E&E), Machinery and Equipment (M&E), Chemical as well as high-potential industries such as Medical Devices and Aerospace. These industries have strong inter-linkages with other subsectors and as such, play a vital role to support the development of the overall manufacturing sector. Of equal importance are investments in the services sectors. Subsectors such as Global Operations Hub, Regional Establishments, Research and Development (R&D), Logistics, Green Technology, Education, Health, Hotels and Tourism continue to be prioritised as these subsectors assume an essential role by supporting companies in all sectors of the economy.