The evolution of Kuala Lumpur (KL)
has been remarkable – from a tin mining town to a major regional hub with
diversified industries, including global semiconductors, banking and capital
markets, prime grade real estate developments, world-class universities and
multimodal transport hubs for international aviation, rail and shipping.
KL’s next transformation path is
pivoting towards next-generation digital industries, from digital e-platforms,
Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, advanced medical technologies through to
high-value Global Business Services (GBS).
In addition to a suite of
attractive tax incentives for high-tech sector investments, KL is gaining
global investors’ attention as Asia’s
truly 3 D city that is dynamic, digital and diverse. In contrast to other
high-density cities in the region, KL has balanced growth attributes, including
a green ecosystem, rapid growth dynamics, integrated transport facilities,
world-class connectivity, future-ready multilingual talent and high-technology
capabilities.
KL stands
future-ready to be Asia’s next strategic investment hub –it has the right
balance of talent and dynamic business ecosystem to optimize regional operating
models and to elevate corporations’ expansion into ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific
region.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, with
the challenging global business environment, leading multinational corporations
(MNCs) were optimizing their business models to aspire for “high-value,
high-impact” central operating models. The COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed the
acceleration of MNCs’ decisions to centralize their Asia-Pacific operations in
the most strategic and cost-competitive location to better manage their supply
chain management activities.
In
optimizing operating models, the search for flexible tax regimes becomes
imperative. Malaysia’s flexible tax regime, including the Principal Hub
incentive and high-tech sector incentives, has attracted MNCs to locate their
regional headquarters operations in KL. The recent wave of global investors
include Industry 4.0 high-technology manufacturers and service providers.