Malaysia

Malaysia’s pioneering role in the development of Islamic finance has made it a clear leader in this field, even as oil-rich Gulf countries show increasing interest in sharia-compliant finance. It is the world’s largest sukuk market – a fact underscored by the record $9.9bn offering by highway operator PLUS in January 2012 – and the second-largest takaful market. The industry has been helped by...

The local bourse has seen a bonanza of major offerings in 2012, from the $3.1bn IPO of plantations owner Felda Global, to the dual Singapore-Malaysia listing of hospital operator IHH Healthcare. The corporate bond market is also on a record-setting pace, thanks in large part to a string of sukuk sales that included a $9.9bn debt offering from tollway company PLUS. Meanwhile a wave of...

Malaysia’s banking sector is well-capitalised and stable, with larger financial institutions now looking at overseas expansion to increase their clout. The regulators’ encouragement of consolidation under the Financial Sector Master Plan, which ended in 2010, reduced the number of banks from around 20 down to 8 major institutions. These have high capital-adequacy ratios and low ratios of non-...

Malaysia continued to post reasonably strong growth in 2012 despite its high exposure to trade amidst a soft global economic climate. The Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) championed by Prime Minister Najib Razak is taking hold, bringing increased expenditures on infrastructure and a growth in private sector investment. The ETP’s goal is to help Malaysia escape the “middle-income trap” and...

Split between Peninsular Malaysia and the island of Borneo, Malaysia has a diverse population of 29m, mainly ethnic Malays, Chinese and Indians. Bahasa Malayu is the official national language, but Indian and Chinese languages are spoken by their respective native communities, and English is widely used even beyond the business community. Malaysia, which gained real independence in 1957, is a...