Britain has invested around £20 billion in Malaysia over the last three decades and over 300 UK companies, including Shell, BP, Tesco, HSBC, Prudential and Standard Chartered are present in the country

Shared history with UK provides foundation for friendship and joint business ventures
Substantially involved in one another’s economies, Britain and Malaysia enjoy a well developed partnership that continues to grow

Half a century after the British flag was lowered in Malaysia, the relationship between the two countries remains strong. “Malaysia-UK ties are anchored in shared traditional values, with mutually rewarding engagement in the areas of trade, investment, education and defence,” says Syed Hamid Bin Syed Jaafar Albar, Malaysia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. “We also actively cooperate on a wide range of issues of regional and global importance.”

Trade between the two countries is worth around £3 billion per year – the ratio being about 2:1 in Malaysia’s favour. The UK is Malaysia’s largest direct goods export market in Europe, absorbing Malaysian products to the value of approximately £2 million annually. Malaysia, in turn, is the UK’s second largest market in southeast Asia, after Singapore, buying in around £1 million of exports from the UK.

Britain is one of Malaysia’s largest investors, having pumped some £20 billion into its former colony and fellow Commonwealth member over the past 30 years. In recent years, investments by British companies have grown substantially. More than 300 British companies currently operate in Malaysia’s manufacturing and services sectors, including big names like Shell, BP, Tesco, Jardine, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Prudential and Dyson.

Syed Hamid Bin Syed Jaafar Albar Minister of Foreign Affairs

Malaysian companies also have major investment interests in Britain, ranging from YTL’s ownership of Wessex Water, Proton’s ownership of Lotus, MUI’s ownership of Laura Ashley and the Corus Hotel chain, and Petronas’s holdings in a large LNG terminal in Wales and in gas company Centrica.

Recently placed 16th in the list of the world’s top 25 investment destinations compiled by global strategic management consultants AT Kearney, Malaysia is eager to pull in foreign capital – particularly into its new economic growth corridors. A market-orientated economy, with a well-developed financial and banking sector, it has a friendly business environment with attractive tax and other incentives.

As a result of the historical connection with the UK, the commercial and legal framework is familiar. Low costs and the widespread use of English make doing business easy, and there is a young, educated and productive workforce. The well-developed infrastructure includes free industrial zones, technology parks and the Multimedia Super Corridor.

Malaysia has a domestic market of 27 million people. By 2020, it will be 32 million. Located at the heart of a rapidly developing growth region, it offers access to the ASEAN market of more than 550 million people, as well as to India and China.