Transcript Document

Welcome to Malaysia
Dai Harries
Leicester
5 September 2007
Malaysia: an introduction
 Malaysia – Political, Economic and Social
 Doing Business in Malaysia - why and how
 UK Trade & Investment services in Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia: a country at a crossroads
Malaysia: geographically diverse
Malaysia: ethnically diverse
 Multi-ethnic, multi-cultural,
multi-religious society
 But stable
 Bumiputra involvement
important
Other
1%
Indian
8%
Bumiputra
65%
Chinese
26%
Malaysia: economic growth
• GDP growth: ups and downs, but impressive overall
• 7.1% for 2004, 5.2% for 2005, 5.9% for 2006 with
c.6% forecast for 2007
•Ringgit peg to dollar scrapped smoothly in July 2006
15
10.6
10
8.1
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Malaysia: economy
 Economy more and more developed. Service sector largest
(nearly 60%)
 But manufacturing (over 30% + of GDP and 80% of
exports) important. So are mining and quarrying and
agriculture/commodities (both nearly 10%)
 Above all an open economy: 18th biggest trading nation in
the world, with exports same size as GDP
 E & E accounts for nearly 50% of manufacturing output and
over 40% of exports: a strength and vulnerability
 China factor – an opportunity and challenge
 Skills - including English language
UK-Malaysia: trade
UK-Malaysia: Trade
£2,500.0
£ millions
£2,000.0
£1,500.0
£1,000.0
£500.0
£0.0
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
Y ear
Import
Source: Department of Trade & Industry, London
Export
2002
2003
2004
UK-Malaysia: investment
 Investment also significant - and increasingly in both
directions
 Since 1990 cumulative UK investment well over £3
billion
 Major current investors: Shell, BP, TESCO, Jardine
Matheson, HSBC, Standard Chartered; but also
various smaller companies
 Significant Malaysian investment in UK: traditionally
in hotels and leisure (eg Laura Ashley, Corus Hotels,
Crabtree & Evelyn); recently in other sectors (Wessex
Water, Petronas, Genting…)
Malaysia
 Malaysia – Political, Economic and Social
 Doing Business in Malaysia - why and how
 UK Trade & Investment services in Kuala Lumpur
Why do business in Malaysia?
 Close ties with the UK: similar governmental
and legal systems; but above all education
and the English language. And football!
 Robust, generally open economy and
buoyant domestic demand
 Good infrastructure - IT, roads, airports
 A good base for the region and Asia – with
incentives on offer
How to do business in Malaysia?
 Close to UK…but different, Asian customs,
attitudes
and rules of the game
 Relationships central and key to success.
Need to
invest time and be patient
 Bumiputra issue - especially with Government
bodies (eg Petronas, TNB, Telekom Malaysia or
TM)
 A good local partner almost always essential
How to set up in Malaysia?
 Various options to set up a legal presence in
Malaysia: from light and easy to full-fledged
local company
 Other options – with incentives – for bigger
companies operating regionally
 We can provide more information
 But strongly advise to seek advice from
reputable business consultants, as well as MIDA
if appropriate
Taxation in Malaysia
 Tax regime reasonably benign, both corporate (28%)
and personal (1% to 28%)
 Also Sales (0-25%) and Service (5%) Taxes. Due to be
consolidated into GST (= VAT) in 2007
 Customs Duties generally low. But wise to check
 Withholding Tax complicated, with potential liability of
8% for UK companies
 Again, always best to check with business consultants
Useful Websites
 UK Trade & Investment: www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk
 British High Commission Kuala Lumpur:
www.britain.org.my
 Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA):
www.mida.gov.my
 Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM):
www.fmm.org.my
 Malaysia International Chamber of Commerce &
Industry (MICCI): www.micci.com
 British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce:
www.bmcc.org.my