Advertisement

Multinationals choose Greater Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley as Asia base

Discovery Reports

Reading Time:6 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
Malaysia: FDI, Trade Riding High

As Southeast Asia experiences significant inflows of global foreign direct investment (FDI), Malaysia aims to turn the attention of the world's largest businesses to the next most promising gateway to Asia. The Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley (GKL/KV) area is a powerful magnet that can pull investors to the diverse investment opportunities in the country and the region. Bracing for the expected influx, the government is developing GKL/KV to be among the top 20 cities in the world in terms of economic activity and liveability by 2020.

The World Investment Report 2012 pegged last year's FDI inflow in Asean at US$117 billion, up 26 per cent from 2010. Released in July, the report cited Malaysia as among four economies in the region - together with Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Singapore - that had significant growth in FDI last year. With a 12.3 per cent increase in FDI, Malaysia strives to keep the momentum in moving forward the country's ETP by developing a more conducive environment for investors.

Investments for the first half of this year have also surged. Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter rose by 5.4 per cent, exceeding forecasts of 4.6 per cent, due to strong private investments by domestic and foreign investors.

The ETP signifies the key role that GKL/KV plays. Recognising how capital cities shape and drive the nation's economy, Malaysia is promoting GKL/KV as a preferred investment destination for multinational corporations (MNCs).

"Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur have really strong business propositions. In addition to the 12 economic sectors that provide ample investment opportunities, investors can also make the most of Asean, the world's fastest-growing economic region. If Asean were a single country, it would be worth US$2 trillion and rank as the ninth-largest economy in the world," says InvestKL CEO Zainal Amanshah.

InvestKL is a dedicated government entity that is at the helm of attracting Fortune 500 and Forbes 2000 companies. Its mandate is to attract 100 MNCs to be based in GKL/KV by 2020. Zainal says InvestKL is pursuing value investments, high-service businesses and innovation-based activities.

"Aside from MNCs setting up regional headquarters, we would also like to encourage companies to set up what we call their 'control tower' activities here," Zainal says. "This would entail making Kuala Lumpur a regional location for their decision making, centres of excellence, training, research and development, and treasury management."

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2-3x faster
1.1x
220 WPM
Slow
Normal
Fast
1.1x