Malaysia is a favored expansion destination for Asean companies looking for growth opportunities in the region according to Standard Chartered’s (StanChart) in its ‘Borderless Business: Intra-Asean Corridor’ report.

It noted that 49 percent of survey respondents had selected Malaysia as one of the countries offering the best expansion opportunities in Asean over the next 12 months.

The report stated that Malaysia is starting to make headway in developing capabilities to spur growth both in the electric vehicle segment and data center supply and is also seen as a leading medical device manufacturing hub and a market leader in medical tourism.

Overall, the report stated that the majority of Asean companies focusing on intra-regional opportunities expect robust business growth in the region over the next 12 months. Some 99 percent of respondents expect growth in production and 96 percent anticipate growth in revenue.

Access to the large and growing Asean consumer market (69 percent), access to a global market enabled by a network of free trade agreements (59 percent) and availability of a skilled workforce (49 percent) were among the drivers for expansion according to executives surveyed.

Within Asean, Malaysia is a major hub for investments, being the third-largest source for intra-Asean Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2019.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic challenge, Malaysia remains a well-placed destination for companies looking for opportunities to diversify their supply chain and operations in Asean with electrical and electronics, healthcare, automotive and e-commerce being key growth sectors on the watchlist for Malaysia.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE