KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia aims to be listed among the 12 most competitive countries in the world by 2030, in line with the target under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), said Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong.
He said the ranking is based on the World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR) published by the Institute for Management Development (IMD), which covers 330 indicators across four major areas: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.
“Malaysia is currently ranked 23rd in the WCR 2025, up 11 places from 34th position the previous year, thus showing significant progress in the country’s competitiveness,” he said at the Dewan Negara sitting today.
He was replying to a question from Senator Datuk Edward Linggu Bukut about the government’s short- and long-term plans to strengthen economic competitiveness through high-impact investments, industrial automation and the digital economy, while ensuring equitable development in Sabah and Sarawak in line with the MADANI Economy and the 13MP.
Liew said the 13MP target would be realised through a whole-of-government approach, including the enactment of the Government Service Efficiency Commitment Act 2025, pragmatic economic and monetary policies, and an annual productivity increase of 3.6 per cent.
“Five main indicators have been identified as the government’s focus for continuous improvement, including the human development index, higher education attainment, percentage of research and development expenditure, information and communication technology service exports, and gross fixed capital formation,” he said. – Bernama