The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Malaysia’s efforts to diversify its e c o n omy and focus on high-end manufacturing and services are helping the country to realize its aim of becoming a globally competitive trading nation, Wan Latiff Wan Musa, Deputy CEO, Malaysia External Trade Development Corp. (MATRADE) told Oxford Business Group’s online news portal, Global Platform.
Speaking in a wide-ranging interview broadcast on the digital platform, Wan Musa told viewers that a shift in recent years towards value-added manufacturing, including the production of electronic components, medical equipment and Halal food, was now reaping rewards. “Malaysia used to be a major exporter of commodities like rubber, palm oil, timber and tin. Now the structure of the economy has changed completely,” he told Global Platform.
MATRADE’s Deputy CEO described Malaysia as “an ideal gateway” for nations looking to tap in to a huge regional market. “ASEAN will be closely integrated,” he said. “Using Malaysia as a base for entering the ASEAN market is an excellent strategy. Doing business with Malaysia…is actually doing business with the entire world.”
Wan Musa also highlighted the country’s other competitive advantages, which, he said, included business-friendly policies, strong connectivity and excellent infrastructure.
Turning to services, Wan Musa noted that while tourism continued to lead the sector, other areas, such as ICT, and oil and gas, have expanded, while emerging segments, including aerospace, were ripe for growth. He also highlighted the key role that Malaysia’s construction forms were playing in major project development abroad, pointing to their involvement in megaprojects in the UAE and telecoms roll-outs in Asia, among others.
Neslihan Aydagül, Managing Director of Global Platform, said the interview highlighted Malaysia’s potential, both as a specific destination for FDI and a point of entry for foreign investment into the ASEAN region.
“Our conversation with Wan Latiff Wan Musa also shows that while Malaysia faces a competitive environment when it comes to exporting goods and services, the country offers plenty of opportunities for investors outside of oil and gas,” she said. “Viewers will note myriad openings in a raft of emerging sectors and niche markets, supported by a business-friendly set-up where innovation is encouraged.”