Malaysia – easing business practises

Malaysia has been one of the big movers in the latest World Bank survey on the ease of doing business, moving up six rungs on the international ladder to be ranked 12th overall. However, making it easier to obtain construction permits and start a business, two areas signalled out for improvement, will help the country achieve its goal of breaking into the top 10 writes the Oxford Business Group.

Malaysia: wanted – a genuine new economic model

There is currently a muddled narrative in Malaysia and elsewhere that the country is in some sense ‘stuck in the middle’. It is true that growth has slowed, that the country has been in the ranks of middle-income developing countries for some decades, and that export-oriented economies may not be able to rely on strong global trade growth for the next few years. But the notion of being ‘stuck in the middle’ is devoid of analytical content. It is one thing to observe that, at very high levels of per capita income, as countries approach the frontiers of wealth, growth slows down. But Malaysia is way off such a point. The country’s slowdown is self-inflicted, and there is nothing mysterious about the way out. What is needed is determined, reform-oriented government. Hal Hil comments on what needs to be done with the Malaysian economy.

Malaysia: Partnership in the skies

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Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines have tied up. The hope is that the deal will leave the new partnership better able to compete effectively against local rival, Singapore Airlines, which has plans to launch a medium-long haul LCC in the near future. This competition will also have important consequences for the future of Malaysia – and KL in particular – as a global air transport hub. The stakes are high, with the hope there that a partnership will perhaps be better able to take on these challenges than two competing parties.

Foreign Direct Investment in Southeast Asia: Is Malaysia Falling Behind?

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This paper examines patterns and determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Malaysia from a comparative Southeast Asian perspective. There is clear evidence that Malaysia‟s relative attractiveness for FDI within the region had eroded in recent years; outflow of FDI from Malaysia has consistently surpassed inflow of FDI, a pattern not seen in the other four major Southeast Asian countries.

Malaysia: Jockeying for position

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A recent report on information and communications technology (ICT) has shown that regional rivals are advancing at a faster rate than Malaysia, and that more needs to be done to achieve public targets set by the government. However, officials remain confident that the lost ground will soon be made up.

Policy chaos over migrant workers in Malaysia

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This article describes the woeful state of migrant worker policies in Malaysia. Despite the large presence of migrant workers in the economy, the policies and laws regulating in-migration are chaotic. Policies built on the concept of a short-term remedy for labour shortage problems have exposed the failure on the part of policymakers to recognise the critical contribution of migrant workers over the longer term. The problem is compounded by the absence of a comprehensive policy on in-migration as an integral part of national strategies for economic growth.

Malaysia: Higher education goals

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The OBG is upbeat that Malaysia can improve the skills of its labour force, provided that the administration introduces the critical political reforms needed in Malaysia.

Malaysia tries to shift economy

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It will take more than a new 100-story skyscraper to make Malaysia one of the world’s top industrialized nations. But Prime Minister Najib Razak says Malaysia’s ambitious construction plans—along with a host of other facelifts—will finally help the country break free of what economists call “the middle-income trap.” You really think so, Mr. Najib?

Malaysia Economic Monitor – Inclusive growth

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The World Bank’s diagnosis (third to date) of the Malaysian economy and recommendations for economic reforms.

Why updating Malaysia’s inclusiveness strategies is key

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Philip Schellekens, lead author of the Malaysia Economic Monitor 2011, outlines the key issues faced by the Malaysian economy.