Why Do Business in Malaysia

Malaysia, formerly known by the British Colonial times as Malaya or Borneo to some are located at the end of the Thai-Myanmar Peninsular with over 13 states spanning to the island of Borneo *(which is now called Sabah and Sarawak states with Brunei as an independent nation) offers the business community a far better haven in terms of prospects and tax reliefs all about.

Populated by over 27 million citizens and about 5 million immigrants or foreign workers, Malaysia is a multi cultured country with majority of the residents being able to speak English as a common spoken language with Bahasa Malaysia (or Melayu / Malay) as their main national language with Mandarin , Cantonese and Tamil widely spoken among the minorities. Home to Fortune 500 countries like Dell, Intel, HP, Seagate, Western Digital, Motorola, Silterra and many more top names, Malaysia offers something that others in the region can't: Stability. Economically, Malaysia offers stable currency and political situation, with stern brute force punishment on violence and drug abuse, on top of a stable geological landscape, without fears of an earthquake, hurricane, volcanic eruptions and typhoons. Although the typical monsoon thunderstorm is a part and parcel of life and property here, the loss of lives are not attributed to mother nature, rather the reckless act of men and their machines.

Malaysia offers tax free haven in Labuan, which is an island off Sabah (North Borneo) with International Banking and Finance as a core hub alongside the oil refineries located in Labuan. Corporate Tax is one of the lowest in the region, currently set at 28% at the top rate compared to over 40% in the neighbouring countries. Apart from that, the Malaysian Government don't restrict the ownership of corporate entities to the foreigners unless they wish to bid for a Malaysian Government Tender which will require a majority Malaysian Presence. However, this is normally circumvented as the shareholders and directors are merely proxies to the foreign presence.


(Version 1- 2010/Oct/01)