Kuala Lumpur, an open city. Despite more than mixed results in the March 2008 elections, this is the message that the representatives of Barisan National, the party that has led Malaysia since its independence in 1957, continue to spread to foreign investors. It's a message that no one would dream of questioning in a city that was born of tin mining in the mid-nineteenth century, and for which international trade and capital flows are as natural as breathing or the circulation of blood.
Kuala Lumpur's Golden Triangle is a clear symbol of this opening-up. Located to the north-east of the historic 'city centre', this district has become the mirror and driving force of modernity in 'KL', expressed in five-star hotels, gigamalls and oversized skyscrapers; with the Petronas twin towers, perched at 452 metres since 1998, as a double icing on the cake. So it's hardly surprising that for most business travellers, a trip to Kuala Lumpur is little more than a treasure hunt through the city's 'golden triangle'. Here are the main points of interest...
Eco profile
Despite the relocation of the administrative authorities to Putrajaya, 30km to the south, Kuala Lumpur remains the economic centre of the country (population 27 million), whose economy is very open to the outside world: more than a third of private investment comes from foreign direct investment flows, and Malaysia has become the world's 13th largest exporter, with an average annual increase in exports of 15 % between 2002 and 2007. Nearly half of these exports come from the electrical and electronic equipment sector, supplemented by hydrocarbons, chemicals and palm oil.
The business community is logically dominated by the country's economic partners. At the top of the list are the United States and Asia's major neighbours (China, Thailand, Singapore and Japan), with emerging countries such as Vietnam and India also gaining ground. In second place, France maintains its position, with trade worth €3.1 billion in 2007. The economic mission in Kuala Lumpur notes that "Malaysia is France's second-largest trading partner within Asean, behind Singapore but ahead of Thailand". And it points out that "Airbus and STMicroelectronics account for 40 % of Franco-Malaysian trade and 60 % of our exports". Behind aerospace and electronics, French exports include food products, household equipment and pharmaceuticals.
