Channel NewsAsia to host Malaysia business forum

Asia-Pacific regional broadcaster Channel NewsAsia will bring together top industry and government leaders in a forum to discuss “Sustaining Growth and Development in Malaysia”.

The invitation-only forum in the Malaysia Business Insights 2014 series at the JW Marriott hotel in Kuala Lumpur on 4 September will open with a keynote address by Senator Dato’ Sri Abdul Wahid Omar, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

Senior executives and government officials will discuss long-term sustainable development in Malaysia, whose economy is expecting positive growth over the next two years, with the government strengthening business fronts and promoting investment.

Melissa Goh, Channel NewsAsia’s Malaysia Bureau Chief, will moderate the panel discussions at the forum and says the rapid change, complexity and competitiveness of the global market, coupled with new government initiatives, have altered the way Malaysia does business with the world.

“Malaysia Business Insights brings together leaders and change-makers to examine how we can achieve long-term, sustainable economic growth in Malaysia and leverage its position in the region to ignite economic and social progress in ASEAN,” she says.

One of the strategic areas of discussion will be about how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can leverage technology and focus on talent management and succession planning to expand and reach global consumers. SMEs account for 90 per cent of all business in Malaysia’s manufacturing, services and agricultural sectors, as well as providing 65 per cent of total employment.

The conference is the latest in the successful leadership series of Business Insights forums that Channel NewsAsia has been hosting across the region. The events held over the past year in Jakarta, Bangkok, Yangon, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City aim to establish links across Asia and to promote deeper understanding of the business climate and practices in the host countries.