Malaysia
Malaysia
General Info
| Area | 330,665 sq km |
| Arable as % of Total Land | 5 |
| Population | 27.2 m |
| Main Cities | Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baharu, Klang, Ipoh, Petaling Java |
| Climate | Tropical |
| Language | Malay |
| Measures | Metric System but some British weights and measures are still in use. |
| Currency | Ringgit or Malaysian dollar |
| Time | Peninsula: GMT+7; Sabah and Sarawak: GMT + 8 |
| Weekends | Saturday, Sunday |
| Main Harbours | Bintulu, Pasir Gudang, Port Dickson, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Port Klang |
| Main Airports | Kuta Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Langkawi, Pulau Pinang, Senai |
Location and Geography:
Malaysia lies at the heart of South East Asia and is made up of the mainland and Borneo Island. Peninsular Malaysia has a land frontier with Thailand in the North. In the South, it is linked to Singapore by a causeway. To the West, across the Straits of Melaka, lies the Indonesian Island of Sumatra. The Philippine Islands lie to the North-east of Sabah. There are two regions separated by the South China Sea: Peninsular Malaysia extending from Kra Isthmus to the Straits of Johor, and Sabah and Sarawak on the North-western coast of the island of Borneo. Primary forests cover 60 percent of Malaysia and contain a variety of lush and tropical vegetation. The country is subjected to maritime influences and the interplay of wind systems, which originate in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. The climate is tropical and humidity is high due to rainfall.
Economic Indicators
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| GDP | |||||
| Nominal GDP (US$bn) | 110.2 | 124.7 | 137.2 | 156.1 | 186.6 |
| Real GDP Growth (%) | 5.8 | 6.8 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 6.3 |
| Origin of GDP (%real change) | |||||
| Agriculture | 6.0 | 4.7 | 2.6 | 5.2 | 2.2 |
| Industry | 7.7 | 7.4 | 3.3 | 4.9 | 3.2 |
| Services | 4.2 | 6.4 | 6.8 | 7.3 | 9.7 |
| GDP per capita (US$ at PPP) | 10,135 | 10,854 | 11,465 | 12,289 | 13,152 |
| Prices and financial indicators | |||||
| Exchange Rates M$:US$ (end-period) | 3.80 | 3.80 | 3.78 | 3.53 | 3.31 |
| Consumer Prices (end period; % change) | 1.2 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.4 |
| Lending interest rate (av; %) | 6.1 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 6.6 | 6.3 |
| Current Account (US$m) | |||||
| Trade Balance | 25,711 | 27,572 | 33,156 | 36,698 | 30,388 |
| Goods:exports fob | 104,999 | 126,817 | 141,808 | 160,842 | 182,847 |
| Goods: imports cif | -79,289 | -99,244 | -108,653 | -124,144 | -152,459 |
| Services Balance | -3,954 | -2,158 | -2,380 | -1,889 | 196 |
| Income Balance | -5,928 | -6,422 | -6,318 | -4,729 | -2,539 |
| Current-account balance | 13,381 | 15,079 | 19,980 | 25,488 | 29,709 |
| External Debt (US$m) | |||||
| Debt stock | 48,557 | 52,156 | 51,981 | 52,526 | 53,482 |
| Debt service paid | 9,593 | 9,191 | 9,389 | 7,630 | 10,186 |
| Interest | 2,184 | 2,089 | 2,197 | 2,362 | 2,371 |
| Total International Reserves (US$m) | 43,883 | 65,945 | 69,917 | 82,194 | 101,089 |
III. Trade Figures*
a.
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| Exports fob |
104,999 |
126,817 |
141,808 |
160,842 |
182,847 |
| Imports cif |
-79,289 |
-99,244 |
-108,653 |
-124,144 |
-152,459 |
| Trade Balance |
25,711 |
27,572 |
33,156 |
36,698 |
30,388 |
| Trade Volume |
184,288 |
226,061 |
250,461 |
284,986 |
335,306 |
b.
|
Exports by major products-2007 |
||
| Value-US$bn | Share | |
| Electrical &Electronic products | 80.4 | 43.9% |
| Palm Oil | 11.3 | 6.1% |
| Crude petroleum | 10.1 | 5.5% |
| Chemicals & chemical products | 10.0 | 5.4% |
| LNG | 7.9 | 4.3% |
| Refined petroleum products | 7.0 | 3.8% |
| Machinery appliances and parts | 6.6 | 3.6% |
| Manufactures of metal | 5.0 | 2.7% |
| Total Exports | 182.8 | 100% |
|
Imports by major products-2007 |
||
| Value-US$bn | Share | |
| Electrical &Electronic products | 61.6 | 40.4% |
| Machinery, Appliances and parts | 12.9 | 8.4% |
| Chemicals & chemical products | 11.7 | 7.6% |
| Manufactures of metal | 8.2 | 5.3% |
| Iron & steel products | 7.4 | 4.8% |
| Refined petroleum products | 6.6 | 4.3% |
| Transport equipment | 6.5 | 4.2% |
| Crude petroleum | 5.6 | 3.6% |
| Total Imports | 152.4 | 100% |
c.
| Major Export Destinations | Share | Major Import Sources | Share |
| United States |
15.6% |
Japan |
13% |
| Singapore |
14.6% |
China |
12.9% |
| Japan |
9.1% |
Singapore |
11.5% |
| China |
8.8% |
United State |
10.8% |
| Thailand |
5% |
Taiwan |
5.7% |
| Hong Kong |
4.6% |
Thailand |
5.3% |
| Netherlands |
3.9% |
Korea |
4.9% |
| Korea |
3.8% |
Germany |
4.6% |
| Australia |
3.4% |
Indonesia |
4.2% |
| India |
3.3% |
Hong Kong |
2.9% |
| Others |
27.9% |
Others |
24.1% |
IV. Others
Industry
Peninsular Malaysia - rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing, light manufacturing, electronics, tin mining and smelting, logging, timber processing; Sabah - logging, petroleum production; Sarawak - agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining, logging
Agrıculture
Peninsular Malaysia - rubber, palm oil, cocoa, rice; Sabah - subsistence crops, rubber, timber, coconuts, rice; Sarawak - rubber, pepper, timber
Malaysia is one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of semiconductors. The country is also an important non-OPEC producer of oil and natural gas. Malaysia is promoting the development of industries that can take advantage of its commodity raw materials. It displays encouraging manufacturing ventures in petrochemicals, chemicals, food processing and furniture. The industry is dominated by the production of electronic components, telecommunications equipment, electrical machinery, air conditioners, television sets, apparel, and textiles. The natural resources include tin, crude oil, timber, copper, iron ore, natural gas, and bauxite. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing used to be the traditional basis of the Malaysian economy. The country remains the world’s largest exporter of palm oil, rubber, and tropical timber, and comes fourth in tin and cocoa. The main food crop is rice and the most important cash crops are palm oil and rubber.
