42006912 - Digital Magazine plugdin - May v07

17 INTERNATIONAL TECH HUB | BDO LLP

WHAT’S THE INVESTOR COMMUNITY LIKE IN MALAYSIA? As well as boasting 30-40 private equity and venture capital firms in the country, the biggest advantage in investment terms here is the proximity to Singapore, which is one of the largest capital markets in the whole region. Accessing capital from Singapore is very straightforward, and we get a lot of approaches from fintech and other companies coming via either country Most Singapore PE firms are set up to cover Malaysia and a number of other countries in the region too. WHICHCOUNTRIESARE PRIMARILY INVESTING INTHE REGION? China is one of the biggest investors in Malaysia. Along with its Belt and Road initiative, a worldwide programme which is predominantly focused in Malaysia on investment in infrastructure, direct foreign investment from the People’s Republic for the last quarter of 2019 alone came to around $1billion. Other key investors include Singapore, the Netherlands, Japan and the US. The money primarily goes into the manufacturing sector, construction and services, which includes technology, fintech and consulting. Manufacturing too has a strong high-tech flavour here too; Bosch, for example, manufactures a lot of high- end tech product here for shipping back to Europe. One interesting and perhaps unexpected fact about Malaysia is the central role it plays in Islamic finance and economics. You might have expected the Middle East to dominate this area, but actually Malaysia is the highest-ranked country among 73 Islamic countries and is widely regarded as the financial capital of the Islamic world. It’s also the leader in a wide range of other areas, such as halal food, Islamic travel, Islamic fashion, Islamic clothing, Islamic pharmaceuticals and cosmetic products. Many Moslems are attracted to Malaysia for work and leisure, because they know they will feel at home here and be able to buy things that are under strict Islamic rule, such as Halal cosmetics. The Halal standards for products all originate in Malaysia. So too with electronic payment systems. There is a separate Islamic electronic payment system that is fully compliant with Islamic codes, and a fintech company here is delivering the technology to make this possible. What these facts also demonstrate is how attractive Malaysia will be to international companies that have a strong Muslim customer base. If you have any exposure to Middle East customers, you’d want to base yourself here because the economy is set up for Islamic finance and offers the strongest regulatory framework within the whole Islamic economy.

WHAT’S MALAYSIA LIKE AS A PLACE TO LIVE AND WORK? Malaysia is a fantastic place to live as well as to work. The cost of living is low, the weather is consistently between about 28 and 32 degrees year round, and the crime rate is relatively low. Medical facilities are excellent here; there are no waiting lists, treatment is relatively cheap, and you can buy insurance to cover all your eventual needs. Malaysia ranks in the top five countries in the world for medical tourism. Because Malaysia is so open to foreign investment and already hosts so many international businesses and workers, there are very well-developed expatriate communities here too, with a wealth of international schools. History, culture and natural beauty are all big draws too. Penang Island in particular is a beautiful location and a very agreeable part of the world to live and work. Send your staff to set up a base there and you may never see them again!

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