Malaysia Attractive Investment Destination For Hi-Tech, Knowledge-Driven Firms - Minister

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is an attractive premier investment destination, particularly for high technology and knowledge-driven companies, International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said Friday. He said the conducive business environment in the country has given birth to many globally-competitive companies such as Petronas, Malayan Banking Bhd and CIMB Group. "Malaysia is going through a very exciting transformation, which will make the country even more open for business," he told a dialogue with global corporate, government and media leaders on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum 2012 in Davos, Switzerland. Members of the dialogue who include former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Lord Peter Mandelson, Indonesia's Garuda Airlines chief executive officer Emirsyah Satar and global advisory PricewaterhouseCoopers vice-chairman Juan Pujadas, urged the government to be more aggressive in highlighting Malaysia's success stories. Mustapa also told the attendees that Malaysia enjoyed political stability, with minimal political risks and has clear plans for the future. Meanwhile, Khazanah Nasional Bhd managing director Azman Mokhtar, who also spoke at the dialogue, stressed on the transformation that has been happening in Malaysia, particularly on how the Malaysian Government-Linked Companies have become more competitive and professionally managed. He said the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis has made many Malaysian companies stronger and resilient following lessons learnt during that period. Khazanah Nasional Berhad is the investment holding arm of the Government of Malaysia entrusted to hold and manage the commercial assets of the government and to undertake strategic investments. -- BERNAMA