KL aspires to be among elite cities in economic activity and liveability by 2020

Zainal Amanshah is a leader with a tall order. As the CEO of InvestKL, he spearheads Malaysia's goal to attract 100 of the world's largest multinational corporations (MNC) to invest in the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley (GKL/KV) by 2020. Zainal shares the strong business propositions that make GKL/KV an ideal investment destination.

Southeast Asia is expected to power Asian growth in the next two decades, with combined economies reaching US$2.3 trillion this year, and expected to hit US$4.7 trillion by 2020 - attracting more investments. How do you see Malaysia capturing these foreign direct investments (FDIs)?

In a highly competitive environment, only the most competitive nations will be winners. To complement the ETP, the government announced six structural policy reforms last year to boost our competitiveness.

We are committed to liberalising the economy. Out of the 17 services sub-sectors targeted for 100 per cent foreign equity participation this year, nine have been fully liberalised with the remaining eight to be progressively liberalised this year. Sectors liberalised include department/speciality stores, private hospitals and telecommunications.

Another policy deals with improving public service delivery, including enhancing the ease of doing business. Close to 400 licences will be eliminated by year end. Another 271 licences will be simplified before being made available online. The reform policies are progressing well.

The ETP has created an environment conducive for investment. As a result, Malaysia emerged as Southeast Asia's third highest FDI recipient last year, attracting US$10.9 billion. As private investments make a strong return, our gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of this year rose 5.4 per cent, exceeding most forecasts. We are well-positioned to attract more FDIs.