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Article: Big bang in Penang: can an ambitious federal government pull off a Malaysian miracle?(Malaysia)
- Article from:
- Electronic Business
- Article date:
- November 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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What was once a vast Malaysian rice field 30 years ago is now a free trade zone in and out of which flows the work of 700 electronics companies and 175,000 Malaysian workers. From a standing start in the 1970s, with an economy dominated by agriculture, trade and shipping, this 1,285-acre area now contributes 60 percent of the country's electronics exports. In 1970, starting with eight multinational companies in search of cheap labor and favorable tax structures, Penang generated $342 million for the Malaysian economy; today, the figure has ballooned to $4.47 billion (all figures are in U.S. dollars). The Penang Development Corporation estimates that over the last six ...