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The overall pattern of outward foreign direct investment from Malaysia indicates increasing participation in global outflows of foreign direct investment, especially to Southeast Asia. In 1980, Malaysia was ranked eleventh in the top fifteen developing and transition economies in terms of stocks of outward foreign direct investment, but it moved up to the tenth position by 2013. Outward flows surpassed inward flows after 2007 and Malaysia became a net capital exporter. This paper seeks to examine the pattern of outward foreign direct investment from the country, key motivations, and some of its impact. Government-linked companies are key players in these outward flows, especially in the oil and gas and services sector. The main findings in this paper show that outward investment from Malaysia is driven mainly by a horizontal, market-seeking type of investment while the literature indicates that its impact on trade is insignificant. Given the key role played by government-linked companies in outward foreign direct investment, an important return from these investments will be the repatriation of profits back to the home country. To promote greater transparency, these companies need to report to the public the returns and repatriation of profits on their investments abroad for Malaysia’s current and future development.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • Growing urbanization, increasing trade and investment due to integration, and emerging new business models like e-commerce are accelerating the demand for efficient logistics in each ASEAN country. • The logistics sector is inherently complex due to its scope, ranging from physical infrastructure covering four modes of transport, customs, and services. Each of these sub-sectors is regulated by different government agencies, leading to complex challenges in each country's logistics sector. • Policymaking has a tendency to be done piecemeal rather than integratively, while a more or less fragmented governance structure impedes implementation. ASEAN liberalization commitments focusses on raising the cap on foreign equity, while regulatory reform remains untouched. Also, flexibility offered in these commitments allows for non-compliance. • Going forward, developing seamless logistics requires ASEAN countries to first overcome their domestic challenges. Each country needs to develop comprehensive plans, and effective implementation of these is essential. Liberalization commitments should complement domestic reforms in each country.

Tertiary education provided by private higher learning institutions (PHEIs) is one of the sectors that have been included in trade liberalization negotiations.

There is a relatively large body of literature examining ASEAN–China relations, including assessments of the impact of the ASEAN–China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) on ASEAN's welfare and its trade with China. Overall, the results of these studies indicate a positive impact of ACFTA on the region's exports to China. These results differ from firm-level surveys that indicate a low utilization rate of most regional trade agreement tariff concessions, including those provided by ACFTA. Moreover, trade in manufactured goods in the region has been characterized as market-led, and governed by multinationals (MNCs) and their regional production networks. Thus, MNC decisions are the driving force influencing changes in manufactured parts and components trade in the region. This trade is also fostered by duty-free imports in the export enclaves provided by the host economies for these MNCs. In view of the conflicting empirical evidence on the trade effects of regional trade agreements, the objective of this study is to re-assess the impact of ACFTA on ASEAN's manufactured exports to China. In performing this analysis, we separately evaluate the effects of trade in parts and components (P&C) and non–parts and components (non P&C) or final manufactured goods. When we apply gravity estimation methods to individual regressions for these two forms of trade, we find that the determinants of trade are indeed different for the two sectors, and that the implementation of ACFTA had different effects on P&C versus final goods ASEAN exports to China.

As the end of 2015 draws nearer, the prospect of meeting all the goals of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint appears dimmer by the day. The literature identifies two prominent gaps in ASEAN’s journey towards an economic community as defined by its own vision. First, the extensive literature on the AEC, and this includes the scorecard designed to monitor the implementation of its goals, suggests that there appears to be a gap between commitments and the achievements of the AEC Blueprint targets. Second, attaining a “free flow of services” as stated in the AEC goals, is also hampered by a gap between commitments in liberalization and actual practice. The objectives of this paper are twofold. First, it seeks to review the gap between commitments and practice in Malaysia. Second, it aims to examine domestic conflicts that may constrain Malaysia’s services liberalization efforts in ASEAN. A key question considered in the analysis is the source or sources of these conflicts. Is the conflict confined to the private sector or is the government conflicted from within in terms of services liberalization? In other words, are there certain policies that may negate or off-set liberalization efforts? The key finding in this paper shows conflicting objectives in government policies to be the main reason for the slow pace of liberalization thus far.

The objectives of this paper are: (1) to review Malaysia’s commitments and compliance with the WTO agreements thus far, (2) to assess the impact of Malaysia’s commitments to WTO on its industrial development, and (3) to evaluate WTO-consistent policy options that will enable the country to advance its industrialization process. The findings of this paper show that Malaysia has pursued a dual industrialization strategy. While the export-oriented sector has been able to fulfil Malaysia’s commitments to WTO, this has not been the case for the import-substituting sector. Thus, Malaysia’s compliance with its WTO commitments is incomplete and the import-substituting sector will face considerable challenges in its future development.

The conclusion of the Uruguay Round (UR) in 1994 and the subsequent establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in January 995 signaled a new era in terms of global trade. At the same time the prolonged years of negotiations of the UR also witnessed an increase in the expansion and extension of various regional arrangements. Consequently, the global environment has shifted toward institution‐driven globalisation and regionalism concurrently. The new international horizon promises significant opportunities and challenges for Malaysian industries. The objective of this paper is to assess the ability of Malaysian manufacturing to face these opportunities and challenges by evaluating their competitiveness. The findings of this study reveal only three sub‐sectors that are competitive even before the advent of the financial crisis. Further, the crisis has worsened the competitive position of the manufacturing sector. Hence, it is imperative that current government policies work toward restoring macro‐economic and political stability. At the same time, the medium‐ and long‐term needs of this sector call for a shift in industrial policy from mere export promotion to technology and human resource promotion.