Malaysia wins top marks for ‘overall investment conditions’
Published on: Thursday, March 14, 2024
By: FMT
Milken Institute’s Global Opportunity Index report says Malaysia performs ‘significantly above’ the emerging and developing average when it comes to financial services and institutional framework. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has the best overall investment conditions among emerging and developing nations in Asia, according to a report on attracting foreign investment by international think tank Milken Institute.
The country had an overall ranking of 27, above several advanced economies, including the Czech Republic, Italy and Portugal.
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Malaysia is also ahead of neighbours Thailand and Indonesia, which had an overall Global Opportunity Index or GOI ranking of 37 and 55, respectively.
China’s overall GOI ranking meanwhile stood at 39.
The 32-page report also said the country performs “significantly above” the emerging and developing average when it comes to financial services and institutional framework.
“This country’s exceptional performance in institutional framework is partly due to its strong investors’ rights, ranking fifth overall in this subcategory of the GOI,” the report read.
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Cambodia, meanwhile, has the least attractive investment conditions among the top 10 GOI-ranked emerging and developing Asian economies.
The GOI is designed to inform businesses searching for global opportunities and governments seeking ways to attract capital.
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The index takes into account economic and financial conditions that influence capital flows as well as key business and regulatory policies implemented by governments.
The rankings are based on 100 indicators of a country’s performance that are divided into five categories, namely, business perception, economic fundamentals, financial services, institutional framework as well as international standards and policy.
In 2022, Malaysia was voted the most attractive country in the region for foreign investments based on Milken Institute’s index.
Then international trade and industry minister Azmin Ali said the country attracted more than RM220 billion approved investments in 2021 for the manufacturing and services sectors.
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