SHAH ALAM, SEP 28: The Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2016-2017 has shown Malaysia sliding down the rankings to 25th from 18th last year, from a total of 138 global economies, however it remains among the most competitive of developing Asian countries.
The report announced by the World Economic Forum (WEF) showed that from a maximum score of 7, Malaysia slid down from 5.23 to 5.16.
Nevertheless, Malaysia remains ahead of Korea, Iceland and China in this latest ranking but was surpassed by Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, France, Australia, Ireland and Israel.
Meanwhile, other countries which dropped in ranking were Germany, Japan, Hong Kong SAR, Finland, Canada, France, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
GCR is an annual report issued by WEF based on Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) combining 114 indicators reflecting both macro and micro economic competitiveness.
These indicators are grouped into 12 pillars consisting of Institutions, Infrastructure, Macroeconomic environment, Health and Primary Education, Higher Education and Training, Goods Market Efficiency, Labour Market Efficiency, Financial Market Development, Technological Readiness, Market Size, Business Sophistication and Innovation.
30% or 34 indicators in the GCI are based on statistical data from internationally recognised organisations.
The remaining 70% is based on qualitative assessment by WEF Executive Opinion Survey.
Based on the GCR report, Switzerland has been ranked as the most competitive economy for eight consecutive years, ahead of Singapore, America, the Netherlands and Germany.
Global Competitiveness : Malaysia dropped from 18 to 25
