Establishing Your Regional Hub - Explore Greater KL

Explore Greater KL

Establishing Your Regional Hub

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Strategic location in the Asean region

The rise of emerging Asia as an economic force in the making in recent years, has shone the spotlight on the Asean region, with global and regional multinational corporations rushing to stamp their mark on the growing Asean market to tap on its 674-million strong population.

At the centre of this fast-growing economy, is Malaysia’s Greater Kuala Lumpur, which is one of the most developed economic centres in Southeast Asia, due to its central, strategic location in the Asean region. Nestled within the heart of Asean, Greater KL offers global corporations keen to carve a presence in the region, access to neighbouring economies such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

A key economic centre in Southeast Asia

Greater KL is itself a highly sought-after business and investment destination for global corporations, with excellent connectivity linking it to major Asian cities. Business centres such as Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai are just a couple of hours flight away. 

With its expanding intra and inter-regional connectivity network, Greater KL is well-positioned to be the regional business and investment hub of choice in the Asean region. It is already the regional hub for more than 100 multinational corporations, and the number is steadily growing.

Business Friendly Environment

There are many positive attributes Malaysia and Greater Kuala Lumpur have, including a favourable business environment that includes well-developed and established infrastructure, advanced telecommunication services and high broadband penetration, a robust financial and banking sector, business-friendly policies, and a supportive regulatory framework. 

In fact, the World Bank ranked Malaysia 12th out of 190 economies for ease of doing business in its Doing Business 2020 report, noting also that “the country has good, practical models to draw on, especially in Kuala Lumpur”.

Malaysia offers a conducive investment climate for growth. PwC, in its Doing Business in Malaysia 2023 report, highlighted in the retabled Budget 2023, key proposals included measures to attract investments in technology and high impact sectors. These investments will be pivotal in creating job opportunities while building key ecosystems to help the development of local players, in alignment with the Malaysia Madani framework, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's vision for a civilised, skilled and inclusive society.

A prime location for global business opportunities

Furthermore, Malaysia is one of the most developed developing countries in the world, PwC noted, and has been classified by the World Bank as an upper-middle-income country, with a GNI per capita of US$12,001.

Leveraging on the Malaysian government’s business friendly policies, Greater Kuala Lumpur is becoming a prime investment destination for global investors. According to EY, Kuala Lumpur’s “balanced growth attributes”, such as its green ecosystem, integrated transportation system, world-class connectivity, and attractive tax incentives for high-tech sector investments, have garnered the attention of foreign investors.

Opportunities

GKL has transformed over the years and is now known as the beating heart of a regional hub by the world’s largest and leading companies. Find out the opportunities in high-value focus industries, supported by Malaysia’s forward-looking roadmaps and policies and success stories from our facilitate companies.