It was a major improvement from rankings of 41 in 2018 and 32 in 2016

Malaysia has jumped 15 ranks in the World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2023 to 26 ranks, emerging as the second-best performing Asean country after Singapore.

It was a major improvement from rankings of 41 in 2018 and 32 in 2016. The statement said the last edition of the report was published in 2018.

“The best ranking Malaysia has attained was 25 in the World Bank LPI 2014 report,” Malaysia Productivity Corp (MPC) DG Datuk Abdul Latif Haji Abu Seman said in a statement.

The LPI report, the seventh edition of “Connecting to Compete”, comes after three years of supply chain disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic and covers the latest view on trade logistics performance of 139 countries.

Abdul Latif said the LPI report is a benchmarking tool to help countries identify where improvements in international trade logistics can be made to increase competitiveness.

LPI measures the ease of establishing reliable and timely supply chain connections and the structural factors that make it possible, such as the quality of logistics services, trade and transport-related infrastructure, and border controls.

The latest LPI 2023 edition introduces a new set of key performance indicators, derived from a big data approach, measuring the speed of trade globally. The indicators are based on technological advances in tracking actual high-frequency international movements of maritime shipping, containers, air freight and postal parcels by trade lane and gateway, the statement added.

Source: The Malaysian Reserve

Malaysia jumps 15 ranks in World Bank Logistics Index

Universiti Malaya (UM) is Malaysia’s strongest institution overall, and the country’s highest ranked, in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2023.

With 36 subjects ranked, including 15 in the world top 100 (a decrease of two subjects, compared with last year’s 17), UM also produced some of Malaysia’s highest quality research and is the country’s most collaborative university, in terms of international research.

Of UM’s ranked subjects, Library and Information Management, and Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies were ranked in the top 50.

Chemistry at UM was Malaysia’s most improved subject, climbing 33 ranks to place 104th.

The other two subjects at the varsity that made the most improvement were Medicine, up 16 spots to place 128th, and English Language and Literature, up eight spots to place 52nd.

Universiti Malaya vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor expressed confidence that the varsity would improve further.

The implementation of its strategic plan, he said, would lead UM to be a self-sustaining and dynamic university capable of producing leaders, imparting knowledge, and providing solutions that would impact the nation.

“I am pleased that our UM community continues to place Malaysia on the global stage through our dedication, commitment and hard work towards serving the nation and impacting the world.”

In terms of total subjects ranked, UM was followed by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, which each had 24 subjects ranked.

Released at 6pm Wednesday (March 22), the rankings offered independent data on the performance of programmes at Malaysian universities.

Of the 210 programmes, 56 improved, 53 declined and 90 remained unchanged, while 11 programmes were ranked for the first time.

With an overall improvement of 82%, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) is the world’s most improved institution. None of its ranked subjects declined in this year’s rankings, making it one of only eight universities in the world with 10 or more entries to achieve this feat.

UTP vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Abdul Mutalib said the rankings spoke volumes of its comprehensive strategy to be a sustainable, dynamic and digitalised university.

“We will continue to strive for excellence in academic, research and student experience.

“In research and innovation, we will support PETRONAS’ energy transition initiatives to move towards Net Zero Carbon Emission (NZCE) as one of our key areas in our quest towards sustainable global prominence,” Prof Mohamed Ibrahim added.

Taylor’s University improved by 42% in the rankings and was home to three top 100 programmes, namely Hospitality & Leisure Management, Art and Design, and Business and Management Studies. 

The varsity was also among the world’s 20 most improved institutions with 10 or more ranked subjects.

Attributing the institution’s success to its approach of curriculum innovation and adaptability to the changing landscape of education, Taylor’s University vice-chancellor and president Prof Michael Driscoll said the varsity was constantly evolving its programmes to ensure that graduates were equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in today’s dynamic and ever-changing industries.

“We are committed to providing our students with the best possible education and opportunities to excel,” he said.

UCSI University, the fourth highest ranked local institution with its Performing Arts programme at 21st spot globally, retained its status as Malaysia’s top university for music and the performing arts.

UCSI vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir said the latest edition of the annual subject rankings showed that the varsity was making an impact in both academia and the industry.

“Maintaining an upward trajectory year after year is not easy and I would like to thank all UCSI staff, students and stakeholders for their continuous efforts.

“While there are many encouraging takeaways, we remain focused on evolving to meet the needs of an ever-changing economy. We don’t want our graduates to merely adapt to change – we want them to drive it.

“Moving forward, we will do more in the areas of research, international collaboration, industry partnership and thought leadership.”

The rankings, compiled by global higher education analyst QS, provide independent comparative analysis on the performance of more than 15,700 individual university programmes, taken by students at 1,594 universities which can be found in 93 locations across the world, across 54 academic disciplines and five broad faculty areas.

The faculty areas are Arts and Humanities, Engineering and Technology, Life Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences.

According to QS, the subject ranking is the largest ever and provides a deeper understanding of how global excellence and competitiveness in higher education is achieved.

Its senior vice-president Ben Sowter said Malaysian universities had experienced exponential growth and success, which had been reflected in QS’ Rankings portfolio in recent years.

“Malaysia now enjoys higher than average scores in all of QS’ indicators except for Academic Reputation.

“Therefore, further investment and internationalisation is needed to support the country’s next stage of development, alongside continued targeted investment in research infrastructure to ensure the international academic community recognises this progress.”

The full rankings can be found at https://www.TopUniversities.com/subject-rankings/2023.

Source: The Star

UM leads Malaysian varsities in QS World University Rankings

Malaysia has retained its first place in the overall ranking of global Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI) for the tenth consecutive year, said the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC).

In a statement, MIFC said according to the recently published Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD)-Refinitiv IFDI Report 2022, Malaysia also ranked first in four sub-categories, namely financial performance, governance, awareness and sustainability.

The report also covers the industry’s growth prospects. The global Islamic finance industry has total assets worth US$4 trillion (US$1=RM4.43) in 2021. This is expected to reach US$5.9 trillion by 2026, the statement said.

According to the report, Malaysia ranked first with a total IFDI 2022 score of 113 points, ahead of Saudi Arabia in second place at 74 points, Indonesia (61 points), while Bahrain and Kuwait both shared 59 points.

The IFDI provides Islamic finance stakeholders such as governments and financial institutions a detailed analysis of the key factors driving the growth and development of the industry worldwide.

The global IFDI 2022 measures the performance of 136 countries in five categories, namely financial performance, governance, sustainability, knowledge and awareness.

“The average score for the 136 countries is nine; 38 countries scored above the average while the majority fell below nine.

“Due to the change in the IFDI methodology this year, the scores and rankings are not comparable with previous years,” said the report.

The report highlighted that Malaysia’s biggest Islamic finance ecosystem strengths are awareness, knowledge and sustainability. Saudi Arabia followed closely after Malaysia.

Indonesia showed a strong performance in knowledge and scored well in governance, it secured third place.

The other countries in the top 10 include Bahrain, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and Bangladesh.

Source: Bernama

Malaysia top of the chart in global Islamic finance ranking for 10th year

Malaysia is ranked 49 out of 165 countries and territories included in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2022 Annual Report released by the Center for Market Education (CME) in conjunction with Canada’s Fraser Institute.

The rating and rank refer to data on year 2020. The year before – in 2019 – Malaysia ranked 52. However, the improved ranking does not reflect a better score, but a relative deterioration in the ranking of other countries. In fact, while the overall Economic Freedom rating for Malaysia was 7.52 in 2019, it declined to 7.35 in 2020.

“When jurisdictions increase taxes and regulations, the people become less economically free, which means slower economic growth and less investment,” said Fred McMahon, Dr Michael A Walker Research Chair in Economic Freedom with the Fraser Institute.

Hong Kong and Singapore again top the index, continuing their streak as first and second respectively, while Switzerland, New Zealand, Denmark, Australia, US, Estonia, Mauritius and Ireland round out the top 10.

“The most recent comprehensive data are from 2020. Hong Kong is already showing a decline in freedom in 2020 and we expect the decline to continue going forward,” McMahon said.

The same may be recorded for Malaysia in 2021, added CME CEO Dr Carmelo Ferlito, as the country was among the strictest ones in terms of lockdowns and growing role of government control over the economy.

The report, launched in 1996, measures economic freedom — the ability of individuals to make their own economic decisions — by analysing several indicators including regulation, size of government, property rights, government spending and taxation.

The year’s report, based on 2020 data (the most recent available), also captures the effect of Covid-related restrictions.

The 10 lowest-rated countries are Democratic Republic of Congo, Algeria, Republic of Congo, Iran, Libya, Argentina, Syrian Arab Republic, Zimbabwe, Sudan and Venezuela. Despotic countries such as North Korea and Cuba cannot be ranked due to lack of data.

The rankings of other major countries include Japan (12th), Canada (14th), Germany (24th), Italy (43rd), France (54th), Mexico (65th), India (90th), Russia (94th), Brazil (114th) and China (116th).

According to research in top peer-reviewed academic journals, people living in countries with high levels of economic freedom enjoy greater prosperity, more political and civil liberties, and longer lives.

For example, countries in the top quartile of economic freedom had an average per-capita gross domestic product of US$48,251 (RM217,617) in 2020 compared to US$6,542 for bottom quartile countries. And poverty rates are lower. In the top quartile, 2.02% of the population experienced extreme poverty (US$1.90 a day) compared to 31.45% in the lowest quartile. Finally, life expectancy is 80.4 years in the top quartile of countries compared to 66.0 years in the bottom quartile.

“Where people are free to pursue their own opportunities and make their own choices, they lead more prosperous, happier and healthier lives,” McMahon said.

Malaysia scores in key components of economic freedom (from 1 to 10 where a higher value indicates a higher level of economic freedom):

– Size of government: changed to 7.12 from 7.04 in the last year’s report

– Legal system and property rights: changed to 5.88 from 5.83

– Access to sound money: changed to 8.32 from 8.41

– Freedom to trade internationally: changed to 6.97 from 7.63

– Regulation of credit, labour and business: changed to 8.47 from 8.67

“The figures show – like the general rating – a trend toward deterioration in economic freedom: in fact, despite improvements in the size of government and legal system, we observed deterioration in the access to sound money, in the freedom to trade internationally and in the regulation of credit, labour and business. We expect these figures to deteriorate further next year. At the same time, such figures indicate the road of action to put Malaysia back on track in the path toward economic freedom: we should not forget that in 1980 Malaysia ranked 22 (rather than the current 49) and in 1990 it improved to the 18th position,” explained Ferlito.

The Fraser Institute produces the annual Economic Freedom of the World report in cooperation with the Economic Freedom Network, a group of independent research and educational institutes in nearly 100 countries and territories. It is the world’s premier measurement of economic freedom, measuring and ranking countries in five areas — size of government, legal structure and security of property rights, access to sound money, freedom to trade internationally and regulation of credit, labour and business.

Economic Freedom of the World measures how policies and institutions of countries support economic freedom. This year’s publication ranks 165 countries and territories. The report also updates data in earlier reports where data has been revised.

Source: The Sun Daily

Malaysia ranks 49 among 165 jurisdictions in economic freedom

The Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Langkawi International Airport (LGK) have been listed as among the world’s best airports in the latest Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey for the second quarter of 2022.

Both airports achieved a perfect score of 5.00 in the global survey by the Airports Council International (ACI), which measures overall passenger satisfaction in terms of terminal safety, facilities, services and cleanliness. 

KLIA shared the achievement with seven other airports in the over-40 million passengers per annum (mppa) category; and LGK was the only airport which scored full points in the 2.0–5.0 mppa category.

“It is definitely more challenging to continuously maintain a great passenger experience, as we welcome more and more passengers at our airports, but we will not waver in our commitment to do so.

“The most recent ASQ results is a manifestation of this commitment, not just from Malaysia Airports but the entire airport community,” Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd Managing Director Datuk Iskandar Mizal Mahmood said in a statement on Tuesday (Aug 16).

He said for KLIA, the top three compliments received through the ASQ survey were smooth processes at the touchpoints, courteous on-ground assistance and fast check-in at counters.

In July 2022, the Malaysia Airports Group registered a total of 7.8 million passenger movements — 4.8 million passenger movements at its network of local airports; and 3.0 million passengers at its Turkiye airport, the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport.

The group recorded 3.1 million domestic and 1.6 million international movements in Malaysia last month, an encouraging 26% increase from the preceding month.

To date, both segments have shown an upward recovery trend, with domestic and international traffic reaching 66% and 18% of pre-Covid-19 volumes respectively.

Source: Bernama

Global survey names KLIA, LGK among world’s best airports for Q2, 2022

Malaysia has been ranked as the world’s third most competitive Global Business Services (GBS) location, behind India and China, according to an index by global consulting firm Kearney.

The firm’s 2021 Global Services Location Index (GSLI) showed that Asian economies continued to take seven spots in the top 10, with India in first place with a score of 7.09, followed by China (6.80) and Malaysia (6.22).

This index, issued every two years, tracks the contours of the global landscape across 60 countries with four major categories — financial attractiveness, people skills and availability, business environment, and digital resonance. 

A GBS location allows large multinational corporations (MNCs) or organisations to centralise their business operations and activities, such as finance, human resource, information technology (IT) and procurement in certain countries to provide shared services, said business transformation consultant Joon Teoh. 

She noted that among the MNCs that have established GBS centres in Malaysia are Shell, AstraZeneca, British American Tobacco and Bash.

“For IGOs (intergovernmental international organisations), we have the World Health Organisation (WHO), Malaysia’s biggest attraction is the diversity of talent, including the languages we speak, that is able to serve different countries,” Teoh told Bernama recently in an interview conducted virtually. 

She said GBS centres serve their own people in corporations or organisations around the world.

“For example, if any of their staff, no matter where they are, have to travel overseas, their air tickets, payments and so on will all be managed by the GBS centres set in Malaysia or other countries.

“How do they (GBS centres) do that? This is where technology comes in. Because you have to make it (happen) in a digital platform for people to put in their claims or to buy their air tickets, (and) for suppliers to send the invoices, etc,” Teoh explained.

Teoh, who is also the CEO of Agos Asia, said that the Malaysian government has always emphasised the development of GBS in the country, including underlining the importance of the sector in the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).

She said this is because when a GBS centre is set up, it can typically range between 150 to over thousands of employees, which will not only create vast job opportunities but also help boost our country’s digitalisation process.

“The government is trying to put us (the GBS sector) in a value curve trajectory because it would be impossible for us to compete with China and India in terms of volume and talent. 

“We could only do (this) by providing high skills to meet requirements, in line with the digital transformation,” said Teoh.

That will be the country’s value proposition, where GPS centres in Malaysia are evolving into centres of excellence, led by the local teams to conduct various research and development projects, among others, including robotic process automation and analytics, she said.

According to the 12MP, in the next five years, the focus will be placed on accelerating the development of strategic and high impact industries, including electrical and electronics, global services (GS) and aerospace.

GS, which comprises principal hubs, GBS and headquarters operations, is the main contributor of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the services sector. 

Approved investments in GS by multinational companies were recorded at RM46.1 billion, constituting 51.7% of total FDI in the services sector from 2016 to 2020.

Source: Bernama

Malaysia ranks world’s third most competitive GBS location, behind India and China

Seven Malaysian companies made it to Forbes Asia’s Best Under A Billion list this year.

In terms of net income, disposable glove manufacturer UG Healthcare Corp Ltd tops the list at US$88 million (RM392 million). It posted a revenue (sales) of US$251 million last year. Headquartered in Seremban, the company is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and has a market value of US$102 million.

ViTrox Corp Bhd, which develops and produces three-dimensional and line-scan vision systems for semiconductor integrated circuit inspection came second with a net income of US$41 million and US$164 million in revenue. It has a market value of US$1.68 billion, the highest in the list.

Automation equipment provider for solar photovoltaic, automotive, medical and battery industries Greatech Technology Bhd is third with a US$34 million net income and US$97 million in revenue last year. It traded on the local bourse at US$1.1 billion.

Palm oil company Kim Loong Resources Bhd recorded US$33 million in net income and raked in the highest sales last year at US$410 million. Its market value last year was US$425 million.

D&O Green Technologies Bhd, which makes surface mount technology light emitting diodes for automotive manufacturers, made US$27 million in net income and US$204 million in revenue. It has a market value of US$1.13 billion.

Steel product manufacturer Tashin Holdings Bhd (net income US$15 million) and glove maker CE Technology Bhd (net income US$9 million) recorded revenue of US$94 million and US$31 million respectively last year. Tashin has a market value of US$43 million while CE Technology US$87 million.

Forbes Asia Best Under A Billion list tracks 200 from 20,000 top-performing publicly listed small and midsized companies in the Asia-Pacific region with sales above US$10 million and under US$1 billion.

“As Covid-19 restrictions ease across the Asia-Pacific and people adapt to the new normal, this year’s annual Best Under A Billion list highlights the shift to discretionary spending. The post-pandemic return to daily life has benefitted apparel makers, mall operators, restaurants, consumer electronics and entertainment companies, among others,” Forbes said.

Source: The Sun Daily

Seven M’sian firms make Forbes Asia Best Under A Billion list

Source: The Edge Markets

Best and worst places for expats

Malaysia has maintained its seventh position in the Digital Agility Index 2022 across the Asia-Pacific (Apac), according to a study commissioned by Workday, a global leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources.

The study revealed that 79% of organisations in the country are still lagging in digital agility, noting that most of the organisations are in the slow and tactical stages of digital agility maturity, despite the accelerated digital transformation and increased technology adoption during the pandemic.

“The study found that the lack of skills in talent acquisition and talent retention were the biggest challenges cited by organisations in Malaysia in pursuing digital transformation,“ it said in a statement yesterday.

According to the study, progress in digital agility has been uneven across the nine Apac markets surveyed, with organisations in Australia achieving the greatest progress in digital transformation efforts, taking the top spot this year.

Singapore, which ranked first in 2020, dropped to the second position, followed by New Zealand, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, while Indonesia stood in the eighth position, followed by Thailand.

“From a regional perspective, only 38% of Apac organisations are in the advanced stages of digital agility.

“For the 62% lagging in digital agility, technology adoption is often driven by functional requirements and business needs such as for e-commerce, safety measures and remote work during the pandemic,“ it said.

The study involved over 800 senior human resource, information technology and finance leaders from across nine markets and 15 sectors in the Asia-Pacific.

Workday president for Asia, Sandeep Sharma said with agility now a key source of competitive advantage in today’s digital-first economy, organisations supported by data-driven processes and imbued with digital skills and work cultures are best positioned to thrive.

“While there is considerable progress with more organisations making the leap to become agility leaders, the fact that the majority of organisations within the Asia Pacific are still lagging creates an opportunity to help organisations digitally accelerate,“ he said.

Conducted in association with the International Data Corp (IDC), the IDC-Workday Digital Agility Index Asia Pacific 2022 study highlights the extent to which Apac organisations have progressed in digital agility since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Source: Bernama

Malaysia maintains 7th position in Apac Digital Agility Index 2022

Malaysia is the world’s fifth fastest-growing real-time payments market, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.9 per cent, according to ACI Worldwide’s third edition of Prime-Time for Real-Time 2022 report.

According to the report, Malaysia is exceptional in the speed with which it has implemented nationwide real-time payments and its rapid adoption by banks and non-bank participants.

The country recorded 1.1 billion real-time payments transactions in 2021, facilitating an estimated US$434 million cost savings for businesses and consumers, and unlocking US$364 million of additional economic output, equivalent to 1.11 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

“Malaysia continues to accelerate the adoption of its real-time payment as well as introduce a stream of modern services, making it one of the most sophisticated real-time markets in the world.

“Malaysia’s real-time payments journey has been fast, distinctive, and sophisticated, encompassing speedy adoption built on low-value transactions, rapid evolution towards more sophisticated and value-added services, and a government determined to assist in driving adoption,” ACI Worldwide said in a statement.

ACI Worldwide partnered leading data and analytics company GlobalData, and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) for the report.

The report tracks real-time payments volumes and growth across 53 countries and includes an economic impact study for the first time, providing a comprehensive view of the economic benefits of real-time payments for consumers, businesses, and the broader economy across 30 countries.

The report covers the group of twenty (G20) nations, excluding Russia.

ACI Worldwide vice president and head of Asean Chee Cheng Ong said Malaysia is the perfect example for other Asean countries on how to establish, align and drive adoption of a modern real-time payments network.

“By opting to form its real-time network on ISO 20022, it has become one of the most harmonised and sophisticated real-time payment environments in the world and a perfect launchpad to provide a host of new and value-added services,” he said.

Malaysia’s real-time journey began in December 2018, with the arrival of a new real-time payment system, DuitNow, introduced by national payments network and central infrastructure provider, PayNet.

Source: Bernama

Malaysia 5th fastest growing real-time payment market globally

Malaysia came on top among 15 global markets for the uplift in users’ average download speeds ratio using 5G over 4G with a staggering 25.7 fold increase, a United Kingdom-based mobile analytics company said.

Opensignal, in its latest definitive analysis of 5G worldwide leaders, said the number of 5G users in Malaysia, however, is small and the ratio would likely decrease as 5G adoption increases.

“It’s important to understand the different state of 5G rollouts across markets, 5G is still very new in Malaysia with relatively few 5G users,” it said.

To date, it said only two operators have signed up to deploy 5G on the single wholesale network.

“The real-world test for Malaysia will happen in the coming months when multiple Malaysian operators market 5G and we see real mass market uptake,” it said.

It said Malaysia’s 5G wholesale network only covers the access network, essentially the cell towers, and Malaysia’s operators continue to use their existing core networks and peering to enable the complete experience for users.

Nevertheless, it said Malaysia jumps in with high rankings in all three 5G speed categories — download speed, peak download speed and upload speed, as well as 5G games experience under the experience category.

In the experience category, it said Malaysia featured in the table highlighting the importance of end-to-end experience for video streaming, multiplayer mobile gaming and voice communications.

Meanwhile, Opensignal said South Korea held onto the global 5G speed crown ranking top for 5G download speed with six markets having surpassed the 300 Megabits per second (Mbps) mark compared to three in March 2022.

“South Korea, Sweden and the UAE have been joined by Bulgaria, Norway and Malaysia although Malaysia is something of an anomaly because of the limited 5G uptake to date and the 5G experience there will likely drop dramatically as more users and more operators embrace 5G,” it added.

Source: Bernama

Opensignal: Malaysia on top among 15 global markets in 5G vs 4G average download speed ratio

Malaysia has been ranked 32nd in the 2022 International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR), down by seven positions from the 25th spot in 2021.

In a statement, the centre said Thailand (33rd from 28th) and Indonesia (44th from 37th) also tumbled down their rankings respectively, driven by the slow re-opening of the economy post-Covid-19 compared with the European Union (EU) and the United States (US).

The Asia region also saw China drop one spot to 17 from 16, reversing China’s strong upward trend in recent years, signalling a poor economic recovery exacerbated by its zero-Covid strategy.

“Going forward, China needs to restructure the economy from manufacturing to high-value services and from investment to consumption.

“It also needs to build a unified national market to enhance long-term economic prosperity, and it will only achieve its socio-economic development goals by using a macroeconomic policy mix,” it said.

Nonetheless, China still tops the Asia-Pacific (APAC) economies along with Singapore (third), Hong Kong (fifth) and Taiwan (seventh).

Singapore reaches the third spot, up from fifth, enjoying its topmost position in the APAC region. Its recovery stemmed from substantial improvements in the domestic economy (first from 15th), employment (third from 18th), public finance (sixth from 12th) and productivity and efficiency (ninth from 14th).

However, it remained in relatively low positions in several sub-factors, including management practices (14th), scientific infrastructure (16th) and health and environment (25th).

Meanwhile, IMD WCC noted that India has the sharpest rise among the Asian economies, ranking to 37th from 43rd.

Its stellar performance saw a six-spot jump after four stagnant years. This was primarily due to gains in its economic performance and business efficiency.

IMD WCC chief economist Christos Cabolis said besides inflationary pressure affecting most economies, other global challenges affecting the competitiveness of countries include variants of Covid-19.

This includes the number of infected people around the world; differing national policies to address Covid (the ‘zero-tolerance Covid’ policy versus the ‘moving on from Covid’ policy); and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Meanwhile, Denmark, as the most digitally advanced country in the world, has reached the top spot for the first time in the ranking’s 34-year history.

“This is thanks to good policies, advantages afforded by being a European country, a clear focus on sustainability and a push from its agile corporate sector,“ said IMD WCC director Professor Arturo Bris.

Switzerland lost its global top spot, moving down to second, despite remaining strong in the overall ranking.

The 2022 WCR assessed 63 economies, via hard data, where 333 competitiveness criteria selected as a result of comprehensive research using economic literature, international, national and regional sources and feedback from the business community, government agencies and academics, and survey responses (100 executives per economy on average) from senior executives, collected from 56 local partner institutes.

Source: Bernama

Malaysia ranks 32nd in 2022 IMD World Competitiveness ranking

Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur has been ranked 46th best city in the world for financial security and legacy management, according to a study released by Veolar.eu, a global leader in antioxidant production and distribution.

In a statement, it said the study to identify the best cities in the world for retirement showed that Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is the best city in the world for financial security and legacy management, followed by Singapore and Wellington, New Zealand.

The study, in partnership with Magmatic Research, also revealed that Tokyo retirees enjoy the best living standards, followed by Singapore and Wellington.

“As inflation and global instability soar, the study revealed the best cities in the world for retirees by analysing later life liveability, financial security, healthcare and wealth management.

“The results revealed where local retirees enjoy the highest quality of life as well as the best cities for legacy management,” it said.

According to the study, Oslo, Norway, is the best city in the world for financial security, a measurement of the economic stability and fiscal environment for retirees in each city, while Lisbon and Porto in Portugal ranked second and third.

“Retirees experience the lowest incidence of conflict and political instability in Wellington. Singapore and Auckland, New Zealand ranked second and third,” it added.

Source: Bernama

Kuala Lumpur ranks 46th best city in the world for financial security, legacy management – Veolar

PETRONAS continues to be the top-ranked company from last year in the 2022 LinkedIn Top Companies list in Malaysia, which is the second annual ranking of the 15 best workplaces to grow one’s career.

In a statement, LinkedIn said the country’s fully integrated oil and gas company, which is committed to upskill its employees to adapt rapidly changing business environment, topped the list followed by Maybank, Bosch, Permodalan Nasional Bhd (TNB), and B. Braun Group.

It said of the seven local companies ranked in 2022, three were government-linked companied (GLCs) along with government-linked investment company (GLIC).

There were Petronas, Maybank, PNB and TNB (number 11).

“These government entities are among the biggest employers in the country and continue to hire talent ranging from entry-level to senior roles, as well as offering internships and trainee programme opportunities,” it said.

Offering flexible work scenario, Maybank introduced a hybrid work environment which enabled employees to have access to hot-desking and collaborative meeting rooms, while PNB started new flexible work arrangements, allowing 1,750 employees to work from home during the pandemic.

It also noted through global initiative 4Diversity, B. Braun Group was focusing on raising awareness and opportunities for equal career advancement.

The company is investing resources in increasing the number of female managers to reflect equal representation at all levels of management. Bosch has a reputation for a balnced working environment practising diversity and inclusion.

LinkedIn News senior managing editor Satoshi Ebitani said: “As we continue to navigate the challenging realities of today’s world, employee engagement and support is now more important than ever.

“Our Top Companies list celebrates companies who are invested in the growth and well-being of the most important resource in the workplace — people.

“With dedicated programmes and initiatives to support career progression and the growing need for work-life balance, these companies are leading the charge for long-term success in the workforce.”

Source: Bernama

Petronas named best company to work for in Malaysia for second year in a row

The Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Langkawi International Airport (LIA) have been named among the world’s best airports in their respective categories for 2021 in a global Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey by Airports Council International (ACI).

KLIA and LIA achieved a perfect score of 5.00 in the airport categories serving over 40 million passengers per annum (mppa) and two to five mppa respectively, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) said in a statement.

ASQ benchmarks the world’s best airports in terms of overall passenger satisfaction for terminal safety, facilities, services, and cleanliness.

This recent industry accolade by a global body will give added impetus to MAHB to continue maintaining high service standards, especially in view of the expected increase in passenger movements after Malaysian borders reopen on April 1.

The group recorded a total of 4.66 million passenger movements in February 2022, out of which 2.54 million passenger movements or 55 per cent were contributed by its local network of airports and 2.12 million or 45 per cent were from its Turkish asset, Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (ISG).

For Malaysia, domestic passenger traffic movements stood at 2.27 million and international at 0.28 million while ISG registered 1.09 million domestic and 1.03 million international.

As for cargo operations, the group recorded a 17.4 per cent increase in total tonnage last month which was about 86,768 metric tonnes for both cargo operations in Malaysia as well as Turkey, when compared to the same period last year.

Malaysia’s own Kargo Xpress has started a new Kuala Lumpur – Hong Kong route.

Kargo Xpress first started out in KLIA last June and operated two local cargo flights to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu respectively.

It now offers daily flights to Hong Kong as a result of growth in demand for air cargo driven by e-commerce, postal services, transshipment, and industries requiring high-value logistics services.

In a separate Bursa Malaysia filing, MAHB said traffic will likely recover steadily over the next few months as more countries reopen borders in line with higher vaccination rates in the region, gaining further traction from the second half of 2022.

The closure of Ukraine and Russia’s air space following their current conflict has temporarily disrupted flights between Istanbul’s ISG, Ukraine and Russia (Moscow and St Petersburg).

As for Asia Pacific, the air space closure has propelled airlines to reroute flights to Europe, adding flight time and increasing fuel consumption and cost.

The group is monitoring the developments in Ukraine along with the rising jet fuel prices, and would continue assessing the impact to the group’s international traffic. 

Source: Bernama

KLIA, LIA named among world’s best airports in 2021

The Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) is confident that Malaysia will be able to be in the Global Digital Competitiveness Index’s top 10 ranking in terms of digital infrastructure by 2025.

This can be achieved by addressing the issue of digital infrastructure construction through enhancing the cooperation  between the relevant ministries and agencies, said MPC director-general Datuk Abdul Latif Abu Seman.

In a statement today, he said that such cooperation is crucial to coordinate infrastructure data in order to design the appropriate interventions in digital infrastructure construction.

He also noted that under the 12th Malaysia Plan, there are differences in relevant policies and regulations with regards to the provision of digital infrastructure in each state.

“As such, one of the steps that can be taken to improve Malaysia’s standing is accelerating the construction of digital infrastructure through continuous engagement sessions.

“This is to increase the industry’s understanding of the government’s efforts in improving the business environment, especially in relation to the construction of digital infrastructure along the highways,” he said.

Abdul Latif said MPC has been focusing on change management, together with MyDIGITAL Corporation in collaboration with the Business Facilitation Special Task Force (PEMUDAH), Productivity Nexus, ministries and agencies to support the country’s digital competitiveness.

He added that technology and digitalisation are important factors to boost productivity, which contributes to the people’s well-being.

“MPC had also conducted a deep-dive on competitiveness indicators to identify specific issues which pose a challenge to the country’s competitiveness in terms of the implementation of improvements.

“This is jointly conducted by the public and private sectors through the ‘collaborative innovation’ approach,” he added.

Source: Bernama

Malaysia heading towards top 10 Global Digital Competitiveness Index

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has bagged the world’s number one spot in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey for the fourth quarter (Q4) 2021.

This placement is achieved alongside nine other international airports in the same category of over 40 million passengers per annum (mppa) that have all received a perfect score of 5.00 in the global survey, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) said in a statement.

MAHB managing director Datuk Iskandar Mizal Mahmood said KLIA had consistently achieved a perfect score of 5.00 for ASQ element of “feeling safe and secure” in 2021.

“The previous lull had enabled us to implement many improvement initiatives, and the perfect ASQ score is a validation of the effort put in by the entire airport community.

“To be placed first alongside other global airports is also an honour for the country,” he said.

The ASQ results were recently made known by Airports Council International (ACI) which is responsible for benchmarking the world’s best airports in terms of overall passenger satisfaction for terminal safety, facilities, services, and cleanliness.

Iskandar said the outlook for Malaysia’s aviation industry remains positive as January 2022 witnessed the arrival of a new airline and also saw the addition of several new flight routes.

MAHB welcomed inaugural flights by SKS Airways at its Pangkor and Redang STOLports (short take-off and landing airports).

Both STOLports now receive daily flights using the Twin Otter aircraft from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang.

In addition, four new flight routes were also introduced by AirAsia in the same month to enhance the connectivity between East and West Malaysia.

The new routes included Kuching ― Langkawi, Penang ― Sibu, Johor Baru ― Bintulu, and Kota Kinabalu ― Kuala Terengganu (TGG).

“With international travel still restricted, the group’s passenger traffic performance in Malaysia is driven by domestic travel.

“For Malaysia, domestic traffic was recorded at 2.5 million passengers last month, making up 90 per cent of Malaysia’s total passenger movements,” he noted.

In January, 8,700 daily average passenger movements were recorded, a much higher daily average than November 2021 by two-fold but slightly lower than December 2021 by 2,000 daily average passengers.

He noted that December has consistently remained a peak month with the highest passenger movements in a year, pre-pandemic as well as during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The resumption of ticket sales for the Vaccinated Travel Lane programme late last month and umrah travel on February 8 is also a positive development for recovery in international travel.

The airports operator registered a total of 4.7 million passenger movements in January 2022 for both its operations in Malaysia and Turkey, a decrease of 11 per cent compared to the preceding month’s record of 5.3 million passengers. 

Source: Bernama

KLIA ranked No.1 in airport service quality survey for Q4 2021

Malaysia ranked top among countries in Southeast Asia in the latest annual democracy report released by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), with an overall score of 7.24.

The Democracy Index 2021 report by the research and analysis division of The Economist Group ranked Malaysia higher than Timor Leste (7.06), Indonesia (6.71), the Philippines (6.62), Singapore (6.23), Thailand (6.04), Vietnam (2.94), Cambodia (2.90) and Myanmar (1.02).

Malaysia also ranked sixth in the Asia and Australasia region, and 39th globally.

According to data from 2006-2021, Malaysia’s score in 2021 showed much improvement from the previous year (7.19) and the best for the country in the period.

The Democracy Index, which began in 2006, provides a snapshot of the state of democracy worldwide in 165 independent states and two territories based on the ratings for 60 indicators grouped into five categories — electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture.

In the Democracy Index 2021, Malaysia scored 9.58 for electoral process and pluralism; the functioning of government (7.86), political participation (7.22), political culture (6.25) and civil liberties (5.29).

Norway leads the index globally with a 9.75 score, followed by New Zealand (9.37) and Finland (9.27), while North Korea (1.08), Myanmar (1.02) and Afghanistan (0.32) are at the bottom of the list.

“The results reflect the continuing negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on democracy and freedom around the world for a second successive year,” the report stated.

It further said that the pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented withdrawal of civil liberties among developed democracies and authoritarian regimes alike, among others, by requiring proof of vaccination against Covid-19 for participation in public life.

Source: Bernama

Malaysia tops EIU’s democracy index among ASEAN countries

Malaysia ranks No. 1 in emerging Southeast Asia as the country with the most potential to attract foreign investors, according to the 2022 Milken Institute Global Opportunity Index.

The annual assessment, created to help inform investor and policymaker global investment decisions, evaluates an economy’s investment landscape using variables such as the macroeconomic outlook, access to financial services, the potential for future innovation and development, and more.

“In this year’s report, we identified several policies that will help emerging Southeast Asia remain competitive when it comes to investment opportunities,” said Claude Lopez, the head of the Research Department of the Milken Institute.

“Governments in the region must strengthen their institutional frameworks, deepen regional integration to take advantage of each country’s unique resources and opportunities, and maximise social impact by leveraging global capital flows to advance development.”

The 2022 Global Opportunity Index includes a report focusing on emerging Southeast Asia, a region where an influx of capital could lead to increased innovation, job creation and competitiveness, according to a statement.

Emerging Southeast Asia scored well compared to other emerging and developing economies in three key areas: i) having a strong economic performance; ii) offering a highly qualified workforce; and iii) being firmly integrated with the global economy.

Key findings from the 2022 Global Opportunity Index include Sweden maintaining its No. 1 rank from 2021 as the country with the most potential to attract foreign investment, followed by the UK at No. 2 and Denmark at No. 3.

Meanwhile, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia took the top spots in emerging Southeast Asia. Malaysia received the highest ranking in the region due to its strong performance across all categories measured. Vietnam and the Philippines rounded out the top five countries in emerging Southeast Asia — in that order.

To create the index, the Milken Institute evaluated investment opportunities through 100 variables organised into five categories and 14 subcategories. The five major categories included business perception, financial services, international standards and policy, economic fundamentals and institutional frameworks. 

Source: Bernama

Malaysia tops emerging Southeast Asia for foreign investment in 2022 — Milken Institute

Malaysia has been ranked 39th out of 113 countries in the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for 2021, according to Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee.

He said Malaysia was listed in the top eight among Asia Pacific countries and placed second after Singapore in Southeast Asia.

“Nevertheless, strengthening the country’s food security is an ongoing process and we must continue to work to improve our position in the GFSI in line with the government’s intention to continue to empower the agro-food sector under the 12th Malaysia Plan,” he said when delivering his 2022 New Year message today.

Therefore, he said the National Food Policy Action Plan 2021-2025 (DSMN Action Plan) which would be launched soon, was a strategy to support the implementation of the National Agro-Food Policy 2021-2030 (DAN 2.0).

He said the initial phase of the implementation of DAN 2.0 which is a comprehensive policy to ensure the country’s food security is competitive and sustainable based on key government policies including the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 and the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, was among the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries’ (Mafi) key achievements last year.

He said DAN 2.0 was not just a policy document but must be used as a guide and reference in all initiatives implemented by the ministry.

“In this regard, I am confident that Mafi will implement all the strategies and initiatives that have been outlined under DAN 2.0 and the DSMN Action Plan according to the implementation period to achieve the set targets,” he said.

He said DAN 2.0 had set modernisation and smart agriculture as key game changers and the main policy thrust that would be focused on to create successful transformation in the agro-food sector.

Ronald said the sector’s contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product was expected to increase to five per cent by 2030 in contrast to 2.3 per cent in 2020.

Meanwhile, he said that the National Ruminant Board would be established and operate in phases starting this year to further boost the industry’s growth, especially in enhancing the country’s beef and dairy production.

He said Mafi had launched the National Beef Industry Development Strategic Plan (BIF  Plan 2021-2025) and the National Dairy Industry Development Strategic Plan 2021-2025 (Dairy Plan 2021-2025) to develop the country’s ruminant industry.

“Through these plans, the local fresh beef and milk production target can be increased to 50 per cent of the self-sufficiency level (SSL) for beef production and 100 per cent SSL for fresh milk by 2025,” he said.

On the new date for the National Farmers, Breeders and Fishermen’s Day (HPPNK) 2021 Ronald said it would be set after taking into account the date for the Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism (MAHA) 2022 exhibition, adding that he hoped both programmes could be carried out this year.

HPPNK 2021 was initially scheduled to take place from Dec 21 to 23 last year but was postponed due to massive floods hitting several states in the country.

Source: Bernama

Minister: Malaysia ranks 39th in Global Food Security Index

The success of Malaysia’s National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) has been instrumental in Malaysia being ranked 13th in the Nikkei Covid-19 Recovery Index after nearly two years of battling the Covid-19 pandemic.

Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh said Malaysia’s success in the fight against Covid-19 was due to the involvement and quick collaboration between public, private and armed forces military healthcare.

“The well-organised vaccination process helped our country. The number of anti-vaccination groups in the country is not as high as other countries and we also managed to convert some of them and got them vaccinated,” he said when contacted by Bernama, today.

Besides that, Dr Kuljit noted that the robust MySejahtera app also contributed significantly in the country’s success against the pandemic.

According to the Nikkei Covid-19 Recovery Index as of December 31, 2021, Malaysia is ranked 13th with a total score of 66.5, with the top three countries being Bahrain with a total score of 82.0, Chile with 76.5 and Taiwan with at 75.5.

The Nikkei Covid-19 Recovery Index ranks about 120 countries or regions on infection management, vaccine rollouts and social mobility.

A higher ranking indicates a country or region is closer to recovery with low numbers of confirmed Covid-19 cases, better vaccination rates and less stringent social distancing measures; and the index’s data sources include Our World in Data, Google Covid-19 Community Mobility Reports, Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Tracker Cirium, and Nikkei Asia.

Meanwhile, Universiti Putra Malaysia epidemiologist Assoc Prof Dr Malina Osman, said the efforts of the Health Ministry (MOH), led by Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah and Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, using effective political strategy and epidemic management as well as the support of all agencies involved including community individuals are the main reasons behind the success.

She stressed that in public health, collective effort is most important and success cannot be achieved through individual achievement alone.

“I think that it is a great achievement, where the commitment of all parties ensured an optimum management of the Covid-19 pandemic, which enabled to the country to successfully implement its recovery plan.

“This is comparable with most other Asian countries. This commitment must be continued to curb cases and clusters and not hinder the recovery strategy,” she said.

Public health medicine specialist Dr Sanjay Rampal concurred, saying Malaysia was currently doing well with the daily reported cases being relatively lower and having a lower incidence rate than many other countries.

“We have been having lower baseline incidence rates over the past few weeks. This may be due to seasonal variation and the community immunity is still high from the past vaccination programme,” he added.

Dr Sanjay, who is also Professor of Epidemiology at Universiti Malaya, said the numbers in the coming months may continue to be low or it may increase due to a few factors such as the establishment of the Omicron strain as the predominant strain that is more transmissible than the Delta variant.

However, he was confident that it was unlikely for hospital services to be overwhelmed if the country proactively planned its Covid-19 services and worked together to include the whole society in combating Covid-19.

Dr Noor Hisham posted on Facebook last night that the Nikkei Covid-19 Recovery Index highlights a divide between Asia and the West, with many countries having a surge of cases involving the Omicron variant in a short period of time.

He also said Malaysia is now ranked sixth in the Global Covid Index (GCI), which was developed with input from various international bodies, including the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Source: Bernama

Malaysia’s 13th ranking in Nikkei Covid-19 Recovery Index due to strong public-private teamwork, says private hospital group

Kuala Lumpur leapt 11 places to number 15 of the Top 20 Asia Fintech Hubs, according to Asia Pacific Fintech Rankings: Bridging Divides report.

The report by global research and analytics firm Findexable and powered by Mambu, a global software as a service (Saas) banking platform, has ranked Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney in Australia as the top three fintech hubs.

It said Asian countries were among the first to launch specialist digital banking licenses to encourage neobanks as a part of broader economic inclusion strategies.

“Malaysia and Singapore also have regulatory sandboxes that allow digital banks to extend some services to pilot customers without passing daily regulatory tests,” it said.

Findexable chief executive officer and co-founder Simon Hardie said the rankings of Asia Pacific fintech hubs were testament to the region’s diversity, ingenuity and commitment to innovation.

“With 45 hubs across the region, with one third more than in 2020, fintech firms across Asia Pacific are proving fintech is the engine of the digital economy.

“More importantly, as this report shows, fintechs are showing that building successful businesses should go hand in hand with contributing to wider financial inclusion and development goals,” he said in a statement today.

Mambu managing director Myles Bertrand said the Saas cloud banking platform has seen an astounding acceleration in the rate of fintech innovation across the region over the past year and the adoption of new financial technologies is now being driven primarily by consumer demand as a direct result of the pandemic.

“Consumers across Asia Pacific have experienced how digital banking technologies can make their lives easier with a huge range of faster, more convenient and much less expensive ways to manage their money,” he said.

He said Asia has been home to nearly half of the Top 20 global fintech hubs identified in the report but the differing regulations from country to country could be a real hindrance to multinational growth in the region.

“Each country’s central bank or government has its own agenda, so it’s incredibly important for fintechs to work collaboratively with the regulators in each country to understand their concerns and to help support the creation of mutually beneficial ecosystems that support innovation,” he added. 

The report highlights the vital role fintech innovation has in closing the gaps between the “banked”, “underserved” and “unbanked”, particularly in countries that may have low levels of formal financial inclusion but high levels of smartphone ownership and internet penetration. 

Source: Bernama

Kuala Lumpur leaps to 15th place of Top 20 Asia Fintech Hubs

Malaysia’s e-commerce was ranked first in term of growth among the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) member countries in the latest Deloitte’s Technology-empowered Digital Trade in Asia Pacific report.

In a statement today, Deloitte said the total size of Malaysia’s e-commerce market stood at US$6.297 billion (RM26  million) this year, representing 61.4 per cent of the e-commerce market size in China and ranked among developing markets after Indonesia and Thailand.

The audit, consulting, tax and advisory services provider said the nation also has the highest penetration rate for sales digitalisation for cross-border e-commerce at 65.7 per cent.

However, it said overall cross-border e-commerce Malaysia has been limited by factors such as cross-border logistics infrastructure and technical operations, impacting its development.

“At present, cross-border consumption only accounts for 42 per cent of the market size of the internet economy in Malaysia, which is much lower compared to mature markets among RCEP members,” it said.

Deloitte said it categorised Malaysia, together with Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, as developing markets after China, South Korea, Singapore and Japan, which were among mature markets.

Early-stage markets were Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei.

It said the region is expected to enter a golden age for digital trade over the next three years.

“The continuous improvement of digital infrastructure will effectively resolve the two major constraints affecting cross-border trade —  logistics and payments.

“Blockchain technology is also creating a new space of imagination for digital trade,” it said.

Additionally, it said critical infrastructure such as 5G would help build data distribution platforms and new network architectures and facilitate the Internet of Everything.

“The vast accumulation of big data coupled with artificial intelligence will also play a key role in intelligent decision-making,” it said.

Meanwhile, it said the rise of micro-multinational enterprises (mMNEs) has become the main drivers behind the transformation of digital trade in Asia Pacific.

It said the mMNEs provided diversified “locally-made products” and light customisation services for global buyers while contributing to over 85 per cent of Asia Pacific’s cross-border e-commerce activities.

WorldFirst head for China Frankie Fan said the company reckoned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to play a crucial role in the economic recovery in the region.

“With the support of cross-border online sales and payment infrastructures and the RCEP starting to take into effect next year, SMEs of the region will increasingly gain foothold in the cross-border trade,” he added.

WorldFirst is a leading international payments business with over 40 per cent market share in China, Japan and Korea.

Source: Bernama

Deloitte: Malaysia ranks first in e-commerce’s growth among RCEP members

Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) has emerged as the top-ranking private university and second among universities in Malaysia, according to the Times Higher Education (THE) Emerging Economies Rankings 2022.

UTP vice-chancellor Professor Tan Sri Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Abdul Mutalib said the university is now ranked 60th, jumping two places from its previous 62nd position.

The university has stood out by scoring the highest for research in the nation and has improved significantly for citation and international outlook scores.

 He said the university is proud of this achievement and would continue to improve its rankings.

“We have solidified our position among the best universities in the emerging economies countries.  

“This achievement bears testimony of our hard work and diligence in delivering our commitment towards all our stakeholders, especially our parent company Petronas, students, parents, sponsors and collaborators,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Nov 4).

The 2022 edition of the THE Emerging Economies Rankings includes 698 universities from countries classified by the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE Group as “advanced emerging”, “secondary emerging” or “frontier”.

The rankings use the same 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators used in all THE rankings.

On another note, UTP is ranked 72nd in the QS Asia University Rankings 2022 with increased scores in academic reputation, citations per paper, papers per faculty, international research network, as well as inbound and outbound exchange students.

Source: Bernama

Universiti Teknologi Petronas is Malaysia’s top private university in the Emerging Economies Rankings 2022

Twenty-two universities in Malaysia improved their rankings in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS): Asia University Ranking (QS-AUR) 2022, four universities retained their positions while 10 others dropped in ranking.

The Higher Education Ministry (MoHE) in a statement today said Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia were among the universities that improved their rankings.

“The four universities that retained their positions are Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia and Universiti Malaysia Kelantan,” the statement read.

The ministry said the QS-AUR 2022 rankings showed 36 local universities participated this year compared to 35 previously.

UM announced in a statement on Tuesday that they had been ranked eighth in QS-AUR 2022, one rung up from last year, the first time the university was placed in the ten best-ranked universities since the rankings were published in 2009.

According to the ministry, the improvement in rankings by local universities meant that Malaysian universities could compete with universities in other Asian countries even with the various challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This success shows that Malaysia can be a premier higher education hub in the Asian region,” the ministry said.

Meanwhile, QS World University Rankings research director Ben Sowter said universities in Malaysia continue to improve in rankings even with stiff competition.

Overall, 687 universities from 18 countries, including 40 new entrants, participated in the QS-AUR 2022, which is the largest ever comparison conducted in the Asian region.

The QS-AUR 2022 is based on 11 main performance indicators, including academic reputation, graduate marketability, quality of research and productivity, international faculty ratio and international collaborations with various institutions.

Source: Bernama

QS-AUR 2022: 22 local universities improved their rankings this year -MoHE