Asia Economy

With Sabah placing the development of human capital and innovation at the centre of its future wealth creation, health and education have undergone a major boost in recent years. The sectors have also become major targets for investment. All this is being strongly assisted by both the state and federal authorities, which aim to see the private...

Sabah enjoyed the third-highest level of domestic investment in the manufacturing sector of any Malaysian state in 2013 and this carried over to the first few months of 2014. Foreign investment, however, has lagged somewhat, and remedying this shortfall is a priority for state and federal authorities.

Blessed with major oil and gas reserves offshore, and a growing oil palm-based biofuel industry onshore, Sabah has an enviable range of energy prospects. Add coal reserves, some promising solar energy sites, geothermal and hydroelectric power, and the state has more than enough potential energy sources to propel its economy further up the...

With its coastline bordering three seas and its capital just three hours flying time from a host of Asian financial, business and political centres, Sabah is a natural international transportation nexus. However, with 3.5m people spread across nearly 74,000 sq km of some of the most varied – and often difficult – terrain in the world, the...

The country has long benefitted from its fast-growing retail lending industry, which has kept consumer demand robust and reduced the economy’s dependence on volatile export markets. But as household debt has piled up to one of the highest levels in Asia, analysts are increasingly seeing credit growth as a source of risk and potential...

As Malaysia pursues its ambition to join the ranks of advanced economies, there is one very good reason to believe it will succeed. The country is already consistently ranked among advanced economies for its competitiveness and pro-business regulatory climate. The World Bank named Malaysia the 6th most business-friendly country in the world in...