Malaysia’s economy has grown 6% on average since the economic crisis of 2008 while GDP per capita has grown over 4% on average. This growth has been spurred by strong construction, service, and manufacturing sector performance. The country is a major producer of computer disk drives, rubber, and timber. Malaysia is also a member of ASEAN and a part of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership both of which strive to increase economic cooperation and trade.
The country benefits from a large and wealthy Chinese community. Most of Malaysia’s population is Muslim and many analysts believe that Malaysia has not taken advantage of the economic potential of trade partnerships or product marketing that can be developed in Middle Eastern markets.