KUALA LUMPUR, 20 June 2023 — Malaysia’s global competitiveness ranking has improved by five positions to 27th place, according to the World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR) 2023, compared to the 32nd spot for 2022.
The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), in a statement today said the improved ranking is a recognition of the Malaysian government’s overall efforts in strengthening its economic fundamentals, and more specifically, the MITI’s key policies and initiatives in positioning the country as the preferred destination for investment, business and trade.
The World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR) by the Institute for Management Development (IMD)’s World Competitiveness Centre (WCC) is a leading annual report on the competitiveness of countries published since 1989.
Instead of looking at short term, reactionary measures, the ranking is an annual yardstick for policymakers to assess their progress against a holistic set of criteria measuring productivity and competitiveness.
The IMD’s WCR is based on 336 competitiveness criteria categorised into four factors: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.
The report details a country’s competitiveness trends based on overall performance, challenges in the year under review, basic facts, competitiveness landscape, and peer group rankings. It also evaluates the evolution, as well as strengths and weaknesses of each economy over time.
According to MITI, the 2023 edition provides extensive coverage of 64 economies.
“Ranked 27 among 64 economies, Malaysia recorded improvement in all four competitiveness factors, denoting the country’s encouraging and resilient progress against the lingering impact of the pandemic, global economic uncertainties and crisis, and multi-faceted domestic challenges,” MITI said.
Minister of Investment, Trade & Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Aziz said: “For MITI, what is key is on how we can improve further. While Malaysia performed well in terms of its prices, basic infrastructure and tax policies, we must earnestly address issues such as talent development of an industry-ready workforce; digital-first mindset for sectors; regulatory reforms for ease of doing business at national and sub-national levels; and the pursuit of sustainable development.”
According to Tengku Zafrul, these are areas that MITI and its agencies are seriously working on through the upcoming New Industrial Master Plan 2030, which is set to reform Malaysia’s manufacturing sector’s foundations for us to become a more competitive economy.
The IMD Report also mentioned other areas that require a multi-Ministry and whole- of-government approach for improvement, and these include business legislation; education; and societal framework.
Chairman of Malaysian Productivity Corporation (MPC) Datuk Kamaruzzaman Johari said the improvement in Malaysia’s competitiveness ranking in WCR 2023 reflects Malaysia’s stability and resilience in the face of numerous challenges.
“MPC believes in pushing further to enhance productivity across all sectors that will improve overall competitiveness factors. Our focus is on key productivity drivers – talent development, technology adoption, and regulatory reform for a thriving business environment,” Kamaruzzaman said.
— Akses Malaysia
