Malaysia to offset dip in competitiveness ranking

International Trade and Industry Minister II Ong Ka Chuan said the drop was not disastrous and Malaysia could head back to the top 20 again in the next few years.
He said the government would hold an inter-departmental meeting to discuss the matter.
On Wednesday, the World Economic Forum released its annual “Global Competitive Report” (GCR 2016-2017), which saw Malaysia slip seven places to 25th out of 138 economies, from 18th (out of 140 economies) last year.
“Each country has its own challenges, so has Malaysia. Nothing to be ashamed of,” Ong said.
He expressed confidence that the GCR result would not cause a big drop in foreign investment inflows into the country.
“I believe that investors, when they study and analyse the GCR report, will find out that there are no drastic changes in the Malaysian investment environment,” he said.
On the Trans-Pacific Partnership, he said Malaysia remained firm on its implementation despite uncertainties brought about by the upcoming US presidential election.
“We have assured Japan that we will stand firm on the free-trade agreement. The government’s stand remains the same. We want it to be enforced in 2018. There will be no renegotiation,” he said.