44
FORBES ASIA MARCH 2020
THE LIST
Wealth Creation
Ready for Prime Time
BY YUWA HEDRICK-WONG
Malaysia has long aspired to join the
ranks of developed countries. Admission
to the OECD, often referred to as the “rich
countries’ club,” would be formal recogni-
tion that Malaysia has done just that. How
close is Malaysia to the OECD level of de-
velopment? Judging from its economic de-
velopment, the answer is “close.” In 2019,
Malaysia’s per-capita GDP was estimated at
about $12,200, not far behind the $13,530
average of the six least wealthy OECD
members, according to World Bank data.
Per-capita GDP is a very narrow gauge of
development, though. Another good mea-
sure is the human development index, or
HDI, which takes into account life expec-
tancy, health, quality of life and education.
In 2019, Malaysia’s HDI put it 61st of 189
countries. Within Asia, only three coun-
tries rank higher: Singapore at 9th, Japan
at 19th and Korea at 22nd. So Malaysia
has made good progress. The coronavirus
MALAYSIA’S
50 RICHEST
- DANNY TAN CHEE SING
$665 MILLION
TROPICANA
AGE: 64
- AHMAYUDDIN BIN AHMAD
$620 MILLION
WESTPORTS HOLDINGS
AGE: 63
- LIM HAN WENG
$610 MILLION
YINSON HOLDINGS
AGE: 67
- GOH PENG OOI
$600 MILLION
SILVERLAKE AXIS
AGE: 65
- CHEAH CHENG HYE
$595 MILLION
VALUE PARTNERS
AGE: 65
- YAW TECK SENG
& CHEE MING
$480 MILLION
SAMLING STRATEGIC
AGES: 81, 60
- DESMOND LIM
SIEW CHOON
$470 MILLION
PAVILION REAL ESTATE
INVESTMENT TRUST
AGE: 59
- PATRICK GROVE
$465 MILLION
IFLIX
AGE: 44
- KONG CHONG SOON
$420 MILLION
UNITED OVERSEAS AUSTRALIA
AGE: 79
outbreak may also hit HDI and economic
growth—a black swan event that could have
a hard-to-anticipate impact.
However, the service sector provides a
more comprehensive assessment. The ser-
vice sector, as opposed to agriculture or man-
ufacturing, tends to be the largest and most
important in any developed economy. Here
you find the best-paid, most highly skilled
jobs. Services reflect the quality of a coun-
try’s workers. And since the lion’s share of
the service sector caters to consumers, it also
measures consumer-sector development. An
innovative, sophisticated service sector with
a strong supply of skilled labor and robust
demand from its customers is a meaningful
measure of a country’s development.
So how does Malaysia’s services sector
stack up? Its service sector is currently esti-
mated at roughly 55% of GDP, much lower
than the OECD average of about 70%. Ma-
laysia’s GDP still relies heavily on agricul-
ture, mining and manufacturing. To get
ready for prime time, Malaysia will need a
bigger and higher value-added service sec-
tor to do the heavy lifting.
On the supply side, Malaysia boasts one
of the best-educated populations in emerg-
ing Asia. The percentage of adults with a
secondary education increased to 87% in
2017 from 63% in 1990, and in tertiary edu-
TO GET READY FOR PRIME
TIME, MALAYSIA WILL
NEED A BIGGER AND
HIGHER VALUE-ADDED
SERVICE SECTOR TO DO
THE HEAVY LIFTING. ALEXANDER SPATARI/GETTY IMAGES
