Malaysia Improves Position As 14th Most Competitive Economy In The World

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's economic transformation is increasingly recognised globally with the country's economy now ranked the 14th most competitive in the world, beating advanced nations in the process. It scored higher when compared with Australia, United Kingdom, South Korea, China and even Japan, said the Swiss-based Institute for Management Development(IMD). Malaysia strengthened its overall competitiveness by moving up from last year's 16th position, IMD said in a survey of 59 countries which measured how well countries managed their economic and human resources to increase prosperity. This ranking placed Malaysia ahead of countries like Australia (15th), the United Kingdom (18th), Korea (22nd), China (23rd), Japan (27th), France (29th), Thailand (30th), Indonesia (42nd) and the Philippines (43rd). The 15 most competitive economies in the world, according to the IMD rankings, are Hong Kong, United States, Switzerland, Singapore, Sweden, Canada, Taiwan, Norway, Germany, Qatar, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Malaysia and Australia. Among countries with a Gross Development Product (GDP) per capita of less than US$20,000, Malaysia maintained its second position among 29 countries, ahead of China, Chile and Thailand. Among Asia Pacific countries, Malaysia improved one notch to fourth position after Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. The IMD said the competitiveness ranking of "all Asian economies have declined apart from Hong Kong (1), Malaysia (14) and Korea (22)." Malaysia's overall improved ranking in the IMD survey reflected the impact of the measures the government has undertaken to improve the economy's competitiveness, said Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed in a statement. "These wide-ranging measures include improvements in the delivery and efficiency of public services and increased transparency and accountability," he said. Mustapa said Malaysia's enhanced competitiveness was rooted in the innovative and bold initiatives undertaken by the government the past year to drive development, growth and create a resilient private sector. The IMD survey assessed countries according to economic performance; government efficiency; business efficiency; and infrastructure. Malaysia registered significant improvements in the business efficiency category (6th position from last year's 14th) and in the government efficiency category (13th from 17th). Ranking improvements were recorded in the sub-categories of business productivity and efficiency, finance, business legislation, and societal framework. In the economic performance category, although Malaysia maintained its top 10 ranking, its position slipped by three places from last year's seventh ranking. This was attributable to slower employment growth and concerns over rising prices. In the infrastructure category, Malaysia marginally improved its ranking to 26th position from 27th position. Areas of concern were health and environment, education and scientific infrastructure. "We recognise that there are areas where improvements in our competitiveness can still be made. "Special attention will be given to address these concerns. Our overall objective remains the same: to achieve a top 10 ranking in the near future," Mustapa said. -- BERNAMA