Business and Market Overview of Malaysia

ECONOMY. Malaysia is a middle-income economy and has the third highest GDP per capita (US$4,625) among the Southeast Asian countries after Singapore and Brunei. The country was primarily a producer of raw materials but transformed its economy from the 1970s to the 1990s into a multi-sector economy. Malaysia's economic growth is export driven mainly from exports of electrical and electronic products.

Malaysia's economy is relatively stable with healthy foreign exchange reserves and a GDP of US$118.3 billion in 2004. From 2000 to 2004, Malaysia's real GDP grew by an annual average of 5.7% while inflation remained below 2.0% and unemployment below 4.0%. The Asian economic crisis of 1997 adversely affected Malaysia's economy during the period. It is unlikely that the country will experience an economic crisis similar to 1997 with current healthy foreign exchange reserves, low inflation and small foreign debt.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 48.5% of Malaysia's GDP in 2004, services accounted for 42.4% and the agriculture sector accounted for 9.1%. Major industries include electronic & electrical products, textiles, clothing & footwear, chemicals, petroleum, wood and metal products. Major agriculture industries include palm oil, rubber, cocoa, rice, poultry and timber.

Discover Ipoh - Food, limestone caves, Ipoh Malaysia Hotel

If you take a full-circle panoramic view of Ipoh Malaysia, you will notice that the city is surrounded by limestone hill range at all angles. This unique natural landmark of Ipoh has made her well known as a hill city in Malaysia.

Limestone caves:

The hill city therefore has a lot to offer with its natural limestone arts. The formation of the stalagmites and the stalactites in the cavern are unique to any limestone hill. The stalagmites grow upward from the ground and meet with the stalagmites from the roof and form a solid column. The formation of these colorful arts by dripping of mineral-rich water from the roof has taken place since 400 million years ago.

The most visited limestone attractions in Ipoh are Perak Tong, Sam Poh Tong and Kek Lok Tong. These caves are the home to many Buddhas' statues. Some of these caverns have a few hundred meters in length, and are connected to a few small valleys at the back of the hills. The only way to access to these isolated valleys is by passing through the long cave tunnels. For those who prefer something a little more challenging, you can join the cave expedition tour at Gua Tempurung. There are four tours offered which will lead you to different segments of the limestone hills and caverns. The longest tour requires 3.5 hours to complete. If you go with this longest Grand Tour, you will need to turn on your torchlight and hike in the underground creek to move forward.

Ipoh food:

Ipoh is very popular for its Chinese cuisine. The symbolic food is Chinese dim sum, noodle dish of white rice and bean sprout oil and chicken cooked with soy sauce and sesame oil. The hill town is also famous for its fruits as Pamela, guavas and durian. Located in downtown Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Ipoh attracts visitors travel to the north-south motorway take stock of food.

Hotels in Ipoh:

There are a number of hotels in Ipoh for your holiday comfort. L 'Syuen Hotel Ipoh is located on the site strategy, the location offers easy access to shopping malls and restaurants in the area allowed. Other flagship hotel is the Impiana Casuarina Hotel Ipoh. Click belowfor more information on hotels in Ipoh.

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