Economy

As ASEAN moves closer to its goal of implementing a common market by 2015, Malaysia has been finding its place in this new regional alignment. The country has a unique role to play, with its longstanding status as a trading nation likely to benefit greatly from further integration. Meanwhile, particular industries will have to strategically position...

Since gaining independence from Britain in 1957 Malaysia has undergone a dramatic transformation. Following self-rule, the country was highly dependent on a limited range of primary commodities and much of the populace lived below the poverty line. Today, after decades of robust growth and sound government planning, Malaysia has a diversified...

With its location on the Straits of Melaka and at the entrance to the South China and Java Seas historically a major reason for its wealth and international standing, Malaysia has long been a trading nation. Today it remains one of the region’s top traders, with China, Japan, the US and Europe major partners, as well as the member states of ASEAN....

ASEAN is preparing to become a common market at the end of 2015, in a move that will create opportunities for investors in a region that has some of the world’s fastest-growing economies and a rapidly expanding middle class. “ASEAN and South-east Asia are among the few bright spots in the world economy,” Teoh Kok Lin, the founder of Singular Asset...

To hit its target of becoming a high-income nation by 2020, Malaysia will need to reduce subsidy programmes, which are set to increase in cost by 27% in 2012, beyond forecast levels. However, the country has one of the highest income disparities in South-east Asia, and subsidies are critical in assisting vulnerable groups.

When the UK’s Duke and Duchess of Cambridge touched down in Kuala Lumpur in September 2012, the warm greeting they received from Malaysia’s public and politicians spoke volumes of the continuing strength of ties between the two nations. The royal couple’s visit also marked the high point of a year of British official visits to Malaysia, begun...