Malaysia

With hotly contested elections behind it and favourable conditions in global markets, Malaysia’s government is on a drive to rein in traditionally large fiscal deficits. Having already brought down the federal deficit from a peak of 6.7% of GDP in 2009 to 3.9% in 2013, the government is aiming for a further reduction to 3% by 2015 and a...

To understand Malaysia’s criteria for recruiting foreign investment, one has to understand something of the country’s tradition of development planning. Malaysia avoided Asia’s post-war wave of communism, but the nationalist government has a similar-sounding tradition of crafting five-year plans. Although short of real central planning, these...

As chair of ASEAN for 2015 Malaysia is expected to announce the adoption of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) – even if not technically complete – highlighting its own progress in liberalisation to give new impetus to the next stage of regional integration.

Malaysia used to benefit from the EU’s generalised system of preferences (GSP) scheme, which offers tariff reductions on exports to developing countries. However, the World Bank’s decision to award the country upper-middle-income-nation status ended its eligibility for these lower levies in January 2014. While EU representatives are confident...

Already one of the most trade-oriented economies in the world and an established regional leader in attracting foreign investment, Malaysia now aims to compete with Singapore as an alternative regional trade and investment hub for the rapidly developing Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc.

The year 2015 is a landmark one for both Malaysia and ASEAN, as the 10-member grouping moves to establish the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) under Kuala Lumpur’s (KL) chairmanship. Malaysia’s government has been gearing up for this challenge for some time too, signalling the approach it may take via a series of policy speeches. In these, Prime...