Malaysia
- GDP Nominal: 338.1 billion USD
- Population: 29.9 million
- Unemployment rate: 2.0%
- Ease-of-doing-business rank: 18th
Malaysia has a newly industrialized market economy, which is relatively open and state-oriented. The economy of Malaysia is the 3rd largest in Southeast Asia, after the much more populous Indonesia and Thailand, and 35th largest in the world. Malaysia is also the 3rd richest in Southeast Asia by GDP per capita values, after the city states of Singapore and Brunei.
Malaysia is the 6th most attractive country for foreign investors, ranked in the Baseline Profitability Index (BPI) published by Foreign Policy Magazine.
Direct Selling in Malaysia
- GDP Growth Constant USD 2014: 6%
- YoY Industry Growth Constant USD 2014: 5%
Malaysia is the #1 market for Direct Selling within the South East Asia region representing 5.3 billion USD in 2014.
With a population of 4.3 million Direct Sellers, almost 1 out of 6 people of the population is involved in Direct Selling. Founded in 1978 the Direct Selling Association of Malaysia (DSAM) is well established and played an important role in aiding the industry professionalization, implementing regulations without limiting its development.
Due the rise of fraudulent pyramid schemes the Malaysian authorities have passed new regulations for the industry and improved its image, as a result the Malaysian market has grown at a 8% CAGR.
The specificity of Malaysia is the preeminence of Multi-level marketing over any other form of Direct Selling. Another particularity is the popularity of Direct Selling among the male population accounting for 40% of the total.
The Wellness category accounts for more than half of sales through the channel. The Malaysian Direct Selling market is shared between local and International companies. The fact that several international Direct Selling companies have their regional headquarters in Singapore makes Malaysia a very attractive market to enter.
Sources: ASENSHIA, World Bank, WFDSA, Euromonitor, Wikipedia
CAGR: Compound Annual Growth Rate expressed in Constant USD 2014, between 2011 and 2014
