Malaysia and its people have entered the 2 1 century, which is an era of information technology and e-commerce. Great changes have taken place in Malaysia's economic structure in the past three decades. Rich mineral resources and fertile land make it often called "a happy country", but Malaysia cannot be self-sufficient. On the contrary, it has taken decisive and pragmatic measures to transform its dependence on agriculture and raw materials into an export-oriented economy driven by high-tech, knowledge-based and capital-intensive industries.

Malaysia's rapid industrialization stems from its early opening to foreign direct investment. Premier Mahadi said: The policy of encouraging foreign direct investment has helped Malaysia achieve prosperity. We still think this is a good policy and will continue to implement it.

A market-oriented economy, coupled with social and economic stability, an educated workforce and facilities that are easy to connect with the rest of the world, will not only contribute to the prosperity of Malaysian private enterprises, but also encourage them to become government partners in the country's development. Today, this business-oriented and business-friendly environment makes Malaysia one of the developing countries that receive the most foreign investment.

In the past decade, Malaysia's economy has grown at an average annual rate of more than 7%, while its GDP has doubled from 1.90 1.00 billion (US$ 50 billion). Exports and imports also quadrupled, reaching RM 308.6 billion (US$ 8/KLOC-0.20 billion) and RM 240.9 billion (US$ 63.4 billion) respectively, making Malaysia one of the world's largest trading countries.

1in the middle of 1997, the regional economic and financial crisis that swept across many countries in the Asia-Pacific region and led to Malaysia's currency crisis and stock market crash further confirmed the strength and resilience of Malaysia's economy. In less than two years, selective foreign exchange control and fixed exchange rate have brought stability to business, and also made Malaysia's economy rebound, and now it has embarked on the track of recovery.

After 1998 shrank by 7.5%, the real GDP of 1999 increased by 4.3%. Since 1999, manufacturing production has also recorded positive growth. The trade surplus has also greatly increased the foreign exchange reserves from RM 760 billion (US$ 20 billion) to RM125.5 billion (US$ 33 billion) at the end of 1999, which is enough to cover 6.5 months of net imports. At the same time, inflation has been controlled, from an average of 5.3% in 1998 to 3% in 1999.