Facilities for Investment
Industrial Land
Electricity Supply
Water Supply
Telecommunication Services
Air Cargo Facilities
Ports
Cargo Transportation Facilities
Roads
Railway Services
Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC)
Map Of Malaysia
1.1 Industrial Estates
To date more than 200 industrial estates have been established throughout the country to cater to the needs of manufacturing companies.
These industrial estates have been developed by government agencies, namely, the State Economic Development Corporations (SEDCs), Regional Development Authorities (RDAs), port authorities and municipalities. The prices and lease arrangements in these industrial estates vary according to location. New ones are continuously being planned by the government agencies to meet the increasing demand for industrial land.
Besides these industrial estates developed by the government agencies, a number of industrial estates have also been and are being established by private developers in certain States.
Free Industrial Zones (FIZs) are areas specially designed for manufacturing companies which produce or assemble products mainly for export. The objective of providing free zone facilities to export-oriented industries is to enable them to enjoy minimum customs formalities and duty free import of raw materials, component parts, machinery and equipment required directly in the manufacturing process, as well as minimum formalities in the exports of their finished products.
To-date, 14 FIZs have been established, namely Bayan Lepas, Prai, Prai Wharf, Batu Berendam, Tanjung Kling, Sungei Way, Ampang Hulu Klang, Telok Panglima Garang, Johor Port, Jelapang, Kinta and Sama Jaya.
Eligibility
Companies which can be considered for location in FIZs are those:
- whose entire products or not less than 80% of their products are meant for export; and
- whose raw materials/components are mainly imported. The Government however encourages FIZ companies to use local raw materials/components where possible.
1.3 Licensed Manufacturing Warehouses (LMWs)
To encourage the dispersal of industries and to enable companies to set up factories where the establishment of a FIZ is neither practical nor desirable, the Government has allowed the setting up of Licensed Manufacturing Warehouses (LMWs). These establishments are accorded facilities similar to those factories operating in the FIZs.
Eligibility
Companies normally approved for LMWs are those:
- whose entire products are meant for export. Companies exporting not less than 60% of their production can also be considered for approval.
- whose raw materials/components are mainly imported.
1.4 Payment of Duty
Goods exported abroad from the Free Industrial Zones are not liable to customs duty.
If they are allowed to be sold in the Principal Customs Area (PCA), they are subject to the following tax policy effective from 17 October, 1997.
(a) Sales of consumer and intermediate goods, where such goods are also produced in the PCA, will be imposed an import duty equivalent to CEPT rates;
(b) Sales of consumer and intermediate goods, where such goods are also produced in the PCA but have local content of more than 51%, an import duty of 5% a.v. or equivalent excise duty rate whichever is the higher (for products subject to excise duty) will be imposed.
(c) Sales of consumer and intermediate goods, where such goods are not produced in the PCA will be imposed an import duty of 3% a.v.; and
(d) For intermediate goods which are not produced in the PCA, manufacturers in the PCA can apply for import duty exemption according to existing policy on exemption of import duty on raw materials/components, machinery and equipment for the manufacturing sector. (Please refer to Chapter 3.17.2)
The above tax policy is not applicable to the cigarette, liquor and motor vehicle industries.
There is ample supply of electricity throughout Malaysia. In Peninsular Malaysia, power is supplied by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) while in the States of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, the suppliers are the Sabah Electricity Board (SEB) and the Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation (SESCO) respectively. Industries located in the Eastern Corridor of Peninsular Malaysia enjoy a discount of 5% in their electricity tariff.
Transmission voltages are at 275 kV, 132 kV and 66 kV, while distribution voltages are 33 kV, 22 kV, 11 kV, 6.6 kV and 415 V three-phase or 240 V single-phase. System frequency is 50 Hz.
In line with the government's thrust to promote high-technology industries,
the ring formation electrical system, the most advanced system of its kind in
the region has been adopted at Kulim High Technology Park (KHTP). This ring
formation system will ensure uninterruptible power supply to the KHTP at all
times. The guaranteed stable power supply is in accordance with the strict
tolerances required by the high technology operations.
Water supply in Malaysia is available at all times throughout the day and is
fully treated, meeting World Health Organization (WHO) international standards
for drinking water. Water rates vary from State to State.
The telecommunications industry in Malaysia was liberalized during the late eighties following the successful privatization of the Telecommunications Department. Currently there are five network service providers of which Telekom Malaysia is the largest, that provide a full range of local, domestic and international services encompassing voice and data facilities. In addition, there are six cellular service operators providing cellular service to approximately 2.5 million customers nationwide using the various technologies including GSM, PCN and several other analogue protocols. Currently, there are approximately 4.4 million subscribers of fixed line services or 22 telephones per 100 population in the country.
At the network infrastructure front, trunk and switched netwok technologies are fully digitalized. Among the technologies deployed are fibre optics, SDH, ATM and other extended wireless bandwidth which can provide high capacities and speeds for voice and data transmission. Work is underway in high profile areas like the MSC to provide bandwidths of 10 Gb capacity to meet the demands of the future. The country is also linked to to the rest of the world by approximately 9,000 international circuits via submarine, satellites, microwave and other landline infrastructure.
To support the demand for bandwidth, other medium end technologies like the ISDN have been extensively deployed throughout the country. In line with the aspiration of the government to promote the information-based industry, Telekom Malaysia and MIMOS Berhad are actively putting the relevant infrastructures to enable Malaysian to log-on to the Net. Currently there are approximately 0.5 million Internet customers and users served by an estimated nine hosts in the country.
MEASAT
The launching of Malaysia's first satellite, MEASAT in 1996 marks Malaysia's entry into space age communications with an impact that will be felt across the communications, information and entertainment sectors.
MEASAT is specially designed to provide both state-of-the-art communications and direct-to-user services. From its orbital slot 91.5 degrees East, MEASAT’s footprint covers most of East Asia, reaching over 1 billion people. The owner and operator of MEASAT, Binariang Sdn. Bhd., will provide integrated voice, video and data services, greatly increasing Malaysia’s capacity to exchange information economically and reliably with all parts of the world.
Malaysia’s central position at the crossroads of South-East Asia makes her particularly convenient as a transshipment center. Malaysia’s air cargo facilities are well-developed, especially in the five international airports in Malaysia. The highly sophisticated airport, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Selangor has a capacity of 25 million passengers per year. However, its site covering 25,000 acres of land is planned to accommodate up to 60 million passengers per year by the year 2020 and growing beyond this, to 100 million passengers per year. The other international airports are the Penang International Airport, Langkawi International Airport in Peninsular Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu International Airport in Sabah and Kuching International Airport in Sarawak.
Air cargo services within Malaysia are offered by the national carrier, Malaysia Airlines, which also provides door-to-door trucking services in the country. Malaysia Airlines has freighter services to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Madras, Delhi, Dubai, Seoul, Osaka, Melbourne, Adelaide and regional points like Hong Kong, Jakarta, Bangkok and Manila. The national carrier also delivers cargo to more than 70 international destinations in 36 countries in six continents and links up with other carriers to speed up delivery of goods to any part of the world. In addition, air cargo services are also provided by numerous international airlines.
There are six federal international ports in Malaysia which come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport. In the States of Sabah and Sarawak, all ports, with the exception of the Bintulu Port, are under the jurisdiction of the respective State Governments.
Five federal ports, namely Port Klang, Penang Port, Johor Port, Kemaman Port and Kuantan Port are situated in Peninsular Malaysia. The sixth, Bintulu Port, which is the country’s first liquefied natural gas port, is located in Sarawak. Individual port authorities have been established for the administration of these federal ports.
All ports in Sabah are administered by the Sabah Ports Authority, while in Sarawak, three separate port authorities have been set up to administer the Kuching, Rajang and Miri ports.
At Kemaman Port, there is a supply base which caters to the needs of petroleum companies. This base is managed by a private company, Kemaman Supply Base Sdn. Bhd.
To date, modern and high-tech facilities and equipment are available in all major ports in Malaysia to facilitate a full range of cargo handling and related activities including containerized cargo and dry bulk cargo.
7. Cargo Transportation Facilities
Today, in Malaysia, various companies provide comprehensive containerized cargo transportation services, such as container haulage, freight forwarding, warehousing, distribution related services, port customs clearance and container repair, leasing and maintenance.
Serviced through a network of local branches and offices, consignees and clients in Malaysia enjoy speedy, efficient and reliable transportation of cargoes. Most companies also have a good international network of agents.
7.1 Container Haulage
Inland container haulage in Malaysia is currently undertaken by five hauliers - Kontena Nasional Bhd., Diperdana Corporation Bhd., Konsortium Perkapalan Bhd., MISC Haulage Services Sdn. Bhd. and Multimodal Freight Transportation Sdn. Bhd. These comapnies have formed the Container Hauliers' Association of Malaysia (CHAM) to look after the interest of its members and to advise on any matters pertaining to the haulage industry in the country. With their diversified fleet of trailers and prime movers which also include modified vehicles these companies could cater for varied cargo needs.
Modern tracking systems have also been commissioned to maintain contact with haulage vehicles on the road.
Besides container hauliers, there are numerous other medium and small-sized operators which truck conventional cargoes to any accessible destination in the country. A block rail feeder service to specified destinations is also available.
A freight liner service for the delivery of containers to outstation clients is also available in Malaysia. Through this multi-modal (road and rail) transportation system, prompt delivery of cargo is assured.
7.2 Freight Forwarding
Freight forwarding service is available nationwide through the hundreds of freight forwarding agents stationed throughout Malaysia. Cargo bound for international destinations can be forwarded through the various international freight forwarders in the country.
Some freight forwarders can provide manufacturers with services in the processing of applications for required permits, licenses and duty/tax exemption for the clearance of goods from the customs authorities.
The Malaysian Highway Authority supervises and executes the design, construction, regulation, operation and maintenance of inter-urban highways in Malaysia.
The construction of expressways which are safe, efficient, comfortable, and complete with all the necessary facilities and amenities links all existing major townships and potential areas for development. The success of the privatisation and Malaysia Incorporated policies coupled with a strong national economic growth has induced more highway development projects in the last few years. The North-South Expressway, The Kuala-Lumpur-Karak Highway and Penang Bridge, being the nerves and spine of road infrastructure have helped in the rapid socio-economic development of Malaysia. Indeed, expresswayshave proven to be the catalyst for industrial growth as they enable efficient provision of transportation services.
Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd. (KTM) which operates in Peninsular Malaysia is a corporation wholly-owned by the Malaysian Government. KTM can be considered the single largest transport organisation in the country, with the capacity to transport several classifications of goods, ranging from grains to machinery.
Today, its network runs the whole width and breadth of Peninsular Malaysia from the northern terminal in Butterworth to Pasir Gudang and Singapore in the south. Wharves and port facilities on the island of Penang are also served by the northerly line.
10. Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC)
The MSC. which is a 15-by-50 kilometre (9-by-30 mile) zone extending south from Malaysia's present national capital and business hub, Kuala Lumpur. The MSC is a perfect environment for companies wanting to create, distribute, and employ multimedia products and services.
The MSC brings together four key elements:
The Malaysian Government has targeted seven multimedia applications for development by 2000. These Flagship Applications are: electronic government, telemedicine, smart schools, a multipurpose card, R&D clusters, world-wide manufacturing webs, and borderless marketing centres.
Malaysia' Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC) is driving this bold initiative. The MDC is a fully empowered "one-stop super shop" wholly focused on ensuring the unconditional success of the MSC and the companies operating in it. Applications for MSC-status is handled by the MDC.
For more information, please refer to MDC's brochure, "Investing in Malaysia's Multimedia Super-Corridor: Policies, Incentives and Facilities".