Baseline profitability index 2015 ranks Malaysia sixth

ASEAN countries only Malaysia and Singapore featured in the top 10. Indonesia was ranked 12th, Vietnam (23rd), Philippines (30th) and Thailand at the 38th position.

This ranking, which covered 110 countries across six continents reaffirms that Malaysia is an attractive profit centre in this region for investors.

Introduced by an adjunct professor of New York University’s Stern School of Business since 2013, the BPI uses a holistic approach based on eight factors that will affect the ultimate success of a foreign investment.

These factors cover economic growth, financial stability, physical security, corruptions, expropriation by government, exploitation by local partners, capital controls and exchange rates.

The BPI calculation also incorporates changes made by the World Bank in its measurement of GDP such as the revised method to compare living standards across countries.

The chief executive officer of MIDA Azman Mahmud in a statemtent said the endorsement dissolves lingering misperceptions and attests the country’s improving economic fundamentals and the Government’s prudent, proactive and pragmatic policies to restructure and diversify the economy.

The Index sends a clear message that Malaysia provides a friendly business environment that makes it an attractive place to invest. This ranking is based not only on historical conditions but also on expectations about conditions prevailing over the next five years.

“The ranking is a reflection of the continuous improvement in the delivery of public services and overall efficiency of the government machinery.

Recently, MIDA has been awarded one of the Top Investment Promotion Agency of 2015 in the Asia-Pacific National categories by the US-based Site Selection magazine.

The award recognises MIDA and the Malaysian Government’s commitment to excellence in attracting capital investment projects. These international recognitions will boost our efforts in bringing in high-quality and high-value-added investments,” he said.

Azman added that the country has consistently registered a double-digit growth of Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) since 2010.

In fact, Malaysia has exceeded the average annual investment target of RM148 billion set in the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) with a growth rate of 12.6 per cent per annum.

In the first quarter this year, the GFCF has also surpassed the Q1 2014 figures by 13.6 per cent, from RM45.3 billion to RM51.5 billion in Q1 2015.

As at June 2015, MIDA already has several exciting projects in the pipeline with investments worth RM25.8 billion for the manufacturing and services sectors.

Building on this good track record of investment performance, we will continue to align our investment promotion activities with the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP) to ensure a significant leap in investment activities that are crucial towards achieving a high-income economy.

For the manufacturing sector, MIDA would focus on three catalytic sub-sectors namely chemicals, electrical and electronics (E&E) and machinery and equipment industries, and two sub-sectors of high potential growth namely aerospace and medical devices.