Why Malaysia

Developed Infrastructure

Malaysia's persistent drive to develop and upgrade its infrastructure has resulted in one of the most well-developed infrastructure among the newly industrialising countries of Asia.

The greatest advantage to manufacturers in Malaysia has been the nation's persistent drive to develop and upgrade its infrastructure. Over the years, these investments have paid off and serious bottlenecks have been avoided. Today, Malaysia can boast of having one of the most well-developed infrastructure among the newly industrialising countries of Asia.

Latest, the development of Kuala Lumpur Sentral, a futuristic self-contained city, providing the perfect live, work and play environment.  A modern transportation hub integrating all major rail transport networks, including the Express Rail Link to the KLIA and Putrajaya, the government's new administrative centre.The transport facilities offered are on par with the best the world over. Read more

Network of Highways

Peninsular Malaysia's network of well-maintained highways is a boon to industries. These highways link major growth centres to seaports and airports throughout the peninsula and provide an efficient means of transportation for goods. To complement these highways, a Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur containerised service known as the Asean Rail Express (ARX) has been initiated with the aim of expanding it to become the Trans-Asia Rail Link that will include Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar before ending up in Kunming, China.

Efficient Seaports

International trade, especially seaborne trade, has traditionally been the lifeblood of Malaysia. Today, more than 90% of the country's trade is by sea via Malaysia's seven international ports - Penang Port, Port Klang, Johor Port, Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Kuantan Port and Kemaman Port in Peninsular Malaysia and Bintulu Port in Sarawak. Port Klang's central location and the government's emphasis on making the port as a National Load Centre and regional hub has resulted in an increasing volume of cargo.

In 2007, Port Klang recorded 7.12 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) With a number of load centring and hubbing strategies, the facilities and services are synonymous to a world class port. Whereas Malaysia's biggest port, Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), located at the southern tip of Peninsular Malaysia is one of the very few ports in the world which is integrated with a Free Trade Zone. The port and free-zone provides shippers and shipping lines with a very attractive business environment. Being a world class port in the Malaysia's southern corridor's new economic growth area, Iskandar Development Region (IDR), PTP with its state-of-the-art port facilities is capable of servicing new generation of vessels being deployed by shipping lines today.Besides the physical infrastructure being in place, the electronic data interchange (EDI) in Port Klang, Penang Port and Johor Port has allowed speedy clearance of cargo with the electronic transfer of documentation.

International Airports

Malaysia's central location in the Asia Pacific region makes her an ideal gateway to Asia. Air cargo facilities are well-developed in the five international airports - the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Penang International Airport and Langkawi International Airport in Peninsular Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu International Airport in Sabah, and Kuching International Airport in Sarawak.Malaysia's biggest airport, the KLIA, surrounded by four main cities of Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam, Seremban and Melaka has a capacity of handling 25 million passengers and up to 8 million tonnes of cargo per year. Cargo import and export procedures are fully automated at the KLIA to cut down delivery time.

Developed Industrial Parks

Industries in Malaysia are mainly located in over 200 industrial estates or parks and18 Free Industrial Zones (FIZs) developed throughout the country. New sites, fully equipped with infrastructure facilities such as roads, electricity and water supplies, and telecommunications, are continuously being developed by state governments as well as private developers to meet demand.

FIZs are export processing zones which have been developed to cater to the needs of export-oriented industries. Companies in FIZs are allowed duty free imports of raw materials, components, parts, machinery and equipment directly required in the manufacturing process. In areas where FIZs are not available, companies can set up Licensed Manufacturing Warehouses (LMWs) which are accorded facilities similar to those enjoyed by establishments in FIZs.

Specialised Parks

Specialised parks have been developed in Malaysia to cater to the needs of specific industries. Examples of these parks are the Technology Park Malaysia in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur and the Kulim Hi-Tech Park in the northern state of Kedah which cater to technology-intensive industries and R&D activities. TPM is among the world's most advanced and comprehensive centres for R&D by knowledge based industries.

Spanning 300 hectares (750 acres), its first phase comprises 12 state-of-the-art buildings with specific functions. To the North is the sprawling 1,450-hectare (3,580-acre) Kulim Hi-Tech Park, the country's first, fully-integrated high technology park. Besides providing one of the best infrastructure there is for high technology manufacturing and R&D, the Park's Masterplan also emphasises on the quality of life within a self-contained township. Amenities incorporated in the plan include a shopping centre, a hospital, educational institutions and recreational facilities. 

Hi-Tech Telecommunications

Malaysia's telecommunications network has seen impressive expansion and upgrading during the past decade following the successful privatisation of its Telecommunications Department. The latest digital and fibre optics technology is being used to provide high quality telecommunication services at competitive prices.

Under the Equal Access Regime, telephone subscribers in Malaysia can choose from five network service providers for a full range of local, domestic and international services encompassing voice and data facilities. There are also six internet service providers and five telco's and other network facilities services support a full range of domestic and international services. Malaysia is linked to the rest of the world through various fibre optics and satellite consortia such as FLAG, SE-MA-WE, APCN, China-US, Japanese-US, Measat and Intelsat. To support the increasing demand for bandwidth, medium and high-end technologies such as IDSL, IP, VPN and ATM are being extensively deployed throughout the country.