NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ahead of President Obama's visit to Malaysia next month, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak called on US-based Fortune 500 and Forbes 2000 companies to expand the USA's investment in the Southeast Asian nation by making the Malaysian capital city of Kuala Lumpur their regional hub for Asia.

Speaking at InvestKL's "In Conversation With The Prime Minister," Mr. Najib reinforced Malaysia's strategic location and position as the leading economy within Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), highlighting the nation's Economic Transformation Programme as the catalyst to elevate Malaysia to a developed nation and high-income economy by the year 2020. The Prime Minister also highlighted the USA's position as one of Malaysia's largest foreign direct investors and fourth largest trading partner, as well as the long history of friendship and trade between the two countries.

"Our efforts to provide a business-friendly environment have been affirmed by the World Bank, which ranked Malaysia the 12th best place in the world to conduct business in its 'Ease of Doing Business 2013' report. The IMD World Competitiveness Centre ranked Malaysia 15th in its World Competitiveness Scoreboard 2013. In 2012, we were placed 4th out of 59 economies in terms of business efficiency," said Mr. Najib.

The event was well-received by the select group of U.S. MNCs in attendance and comes as the United States reaffirms the strategic importance of Asia, marked by President Obama's upcoming visit to the region and advanced stage of the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations.

"The InvestKL team will spare no effort to establish Greater Kuala Lumpur as your Regional Hub for Asia by assisting with key management, finance and trading capabilities to run your regional operations. The legal and commercial infrastructure is also in place to encourage and commercialize ideas and innovation essential for continued business success. And as far as talents requirements go, we have initiated successful partnerships between organizations and institutes of higher learning to nurture industry-specific talents. The returning talents program has also contributed significantly by bringing back the skilled Malaysian diaspora to fulfill the need for highly-skilled local talent," said Zainal Amanshah, CEO of InvestKL.

Mr. Najib commended InvestKL's efforts to promote Greater Kuala Lumpur, encouraging global business leaders to set up their regional business, innovation and talent hubs in Greater Kuala Lumpur and strategically grow their business in Asia. The Prime Minister closed by reinforcing the Malaysian Government's commitment to pursuing pro-business, prudent and pragmatic policies that ensure the Malaysian investment climate remains attractive to businesses and investors, while continuing to drive economic reform and liberalization and leveraging multilateral agreements including the EAC, RCEP and TPPA for mutual trade benefit.

About InvestKL

InvestKL is a Government entity under the purview of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Ministry of Federal Territories and PEMANDU, the Performance Management and Delivery Unit under the Prime Minister's Department. InvestKL works with other Government Ministries, entities and agencies to formulate attractive fiscal packages, and help corporations identify business opportunities while strengthening their competitiveness regionally and globally. Overseen by the Prime Minister's Office, reporting to three ministers and headed by CEO Zainal Amanshah, InvestKL focuses on attracting large global multinationals such as Fortune 500 and Forbes 2000 companies to set up their regional business, innovation and talent hubs in Greater Kuala Lumpur and strategically grow their business in Asia.

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SOURCE InvestKL