MALAYSIA IS BEST COUNTRY TO INVEST IN, SAYS SURVEY

Malaysia is the runaway leader in the “2017 Best Countries to Invest In” survey by United States-based BAV Consulting and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

BAV Consulting and the Wharton School said Malaysia was the clear front-runner, having scored 30 points more than any other nation on a 100-point scale.

They asked 21,000 participants in four regions on the investment prospects of 80 countries.

Countries are ranked based on eight equally-weighted attributes: corruption, dynamism, economic stability, entrepreneurialism, favourable tax environment, innovation, skilled labour force and technological expertise.

“(Malaysia) is one of the top recipients of foreign direct investment, and its pro-business government offers a wide range of incentives to investors,” they said.

Sunway University Business School economics professor Dr Yeah Kim Leng said the ranking is expected to boost investor confidence in the country.

“Malaysia’s No. 1 ranking, ahead of Singapore, in the survey will boost investor confidence in the country’s growth and investment prospects,” he told NST Business yesterday.

The survey indicated that other countries at the top of the list, such as Singapore at second and India at sixth, typically have a younger, educated population.

It said the majority of their citizens can provide the type of skilled work that the labour market demands at competitive wages, and continue the cycle by contributing to the country’s consumer market.

The 2017 Best Countries report and rankings are based on how global perceptions define countries in terms of a number of qualitative characteristics, impressions that have the potential to drive trade, travel and investment and directly affect national economies.

Each country was scored on each of the 65 country attributes based on a collection of individual survey responses.

Attributes were grouped into nine sub-rankings that rolled into the Best Countries ranking: adventure, citizenship, cultural influence, entrepreneurship, heritage, movers, open for business, power and quality of life. Farah

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