Malaysia

Malaysia' s palm oil industry may be able to reap the benefits of unfavourable weather around the globe that is cutting into harvest forecasts and pushing up prices, but the sector also has to heed some storm warnings of its own if it is to maintain production in the long term.

Malaysia's government has sought to play down concerns that opening up the country's finance industry to greater foreign participation will squeeze local lenders, with senior ministers instead talking up the benefits of a more competitive banking environment and greater opportunities on offer in an expanding economy.

Rivalry in Malaysia's crowded telecommunications sector is expected to become more heated in 2011 as wireless service providers roll out widely anticipated fourth-generation (4G) mobile broadband technology.

Malaysia’s information and communications technology (ICT) sector appears to be one of the big winners in the state’s latest five-year development plan. The government is preparing to roll out new investments in the industry and looking to the private sector to make greater use of ICT as part of a programme aimed at radically overhauling the country’s economy.