M'sia To Identify Causes Of Its Global Competitive Ranking Drop

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- The government will identify the reasons why Malaysia dropped in the global competitive ranking this year and find solutions to offset the situation. Second International Trade and Industry Second Minister Ong Ka Chuan said the drop was not disastrous and Malaysia could head back to the top 20 again in the next few years. "Next Friday, we will hold an inter-departmental meeting to discuss the matter," he told reporters after the launch of the Small and Medium Enterprise Solution Expo 2016 here Thursday. Wednesday, the World Economic Forum released its annual Global Competitive Report (GCR) 2016-2017 which saw Malaysia slipped seven places to 25th out of 138 economies from 18th last year. "Each country has its own challenges, so is Malaysia. Nothing to be ashamed of," he added. Ong expressed confidence that the GCR result would not cause a big drop in foreign investment inflows into the country. "I believe that the investors, when they study and analyse the GCR report, will find out that there are no drastic changes in the Malaysian investment environment," said Ong. On the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, he said Malaysia remained firm on its implementation despite uncertainties brought about by the upcoming US-presidential election. "The Malaysian government has assured Japan that we will stand firm on the free-trade agreement. "The government's stand remains the same. We want it to be enforced in 2018. There will be no renegotiation," he added. Besides Malaysia, the trade pact, inked on Feb 4 this year, has 11 other members -- the United States, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Canada, Australia, Peru, Vietnam, Chile and Mexico. -- BERNAMA