The coming of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is projected to transform how we live, work, and communicate in the future, as well as the things we value and how we value them. We are already seeing changes in corporate structures and job trends. Artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet, and cloud computing are being applied in the Industrial Revolution 4.0, which is creating more opportunities for emerging businesses and transforming traditional sectors to digitalize services. The emergence of new businesses is a positive economic phenomenon that provides investors with new possibilities for designing a future potential investment strategy. As a result, venture capitalists need to know the global economic trend when developing their investment portfolio.
The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) has identified 12 main economic industries, including agriculture, infrastructure and communication, electronics and electrical, oil, gas, and energy, tourism, wholesale and retail, and healthcare. Several of these industries have developed rapidly in recent years due to the pandemic economic effect.
Top 5 most attractive industries in Malaysia are listed below:
Digital Healthcare Services
According to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Malaysia is a major destination for medical tourism because of its well-established private healthcare facilities, which are assisted by experienced and globally recognized specialists and well-trained health workers. In 2019, the country attracted 1.3 million international healthcare tourists, with hospital receipts totaling RM1.7 billion. The majority of our medical tourists are from Indonesia, China, India, Bangladesh, Japan, the United Kingdom, Philippines, Australia, Singapore, and the United States.
Within the last few decades, the healthcare sector has achieved great gains, significantly enhancing people’s quality of life and boosting human life expectancy. However, technological breakthroughs in big data, artificial intelligence, virtual care, and personalized medicine services provide new difficulties and opportunities.
It is not a new invention to use information and communication technology to give digital health treatments to prevent disease and improve quality of life. However, in the face of global concerns such as aging, child illness and mortality, epidemics and pandemics, high costs, and the effects of poverty and racial discrimination on access to healthcare, digital health platforms, health systems, and related technology are becoming increasingly important and evolving.
The COVID-19 epidemic has accelerated the ongoing digital revolution in healthcare, further fueling the flames of change. Patient-facing tools like online symptom checks, patient portals, remote patient monitoring tools, and telemedicine are among the most influential COVID-19 innovations.
Education
The Malaysia Education Blueprint (2015-2025) refers to the way forward in accordance with the country’s ambitions to become a regional education center of excellence by concentrating on developing future-proof graduates and industry-ready talents capable of thriving in the world of IR4.0 technologies.
The education business is enormous. This comes as no surprise given how important it is in our lives. There are numerous institutions and organizations that are involved directly in learning, ranging from preschool to universities. According to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Malaysia’s Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIS) have expanded in recent decades, providing a steady flow of human capital to the country and the wider ASEAN region. Over 400 private colleges provide Diploma and Bachelor courses, while several private universities encourage advancement to Master’s and Ph.D. courses.
During the Covid-19 epidemic, schools and educational institutions are transforming their teachings into e-learning mode. The emergence of e-learning has made this market larger and more interconnected with other industries such as media and software.
There are several careers in this industry. Even within certain disciplines, such as teaching, there are several job options. Many industries related to education have alternatives accessible, frequently in expanding and emerging professions. For instance, teaching roles include teacher, lecturer, and private tutor. Despite these main educational roles, educational psychologists and academic librarians are the education support roles usually supporting the work of other education professionals as well as the learners themselves.
Currently, the education technology business is expanding significantly. As a result, there is a wide range of jobs accessible. Some emphasize educational resources, while others concentrate on the more technical side such as learning Technologists, educational software programmers, and course designers.
Financial Services/ Banking Services
The financial services industry is facing a flood of new problems and possibilities as a result of digital entrants and developing technology. This year, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) launched Malaysia’s five-year Financial Sector Blueprint (FSB) 2022-2026 to enhance and accelerate the growth of digital financial services. To combat the transforming economic and financial landscape in the aftermath of the Covid-19 epidemic, every government, including Malaysia, has prioritized digitalization.
According to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), the FSB will serve as a driving force for Malaysia’s digital transformation in general, as well as a catalyst for financial innovation and economic development. The central bank identified five strategic initiatives in the blueprint that will be key enablers for Malaysia’s digitalization plan, which include funding Malaysia’s economic transformation, improving the financial well-being of households and businesses, advancing financial sector digitalization, positioning the financial system to facilitate a robust greener economy, and finally, using thought leadership in Islamic finance to advance value-based financing.
Financial Technology (FinTech) development is at the core of the financial sector’s digitalization, and the FSB has launched several steps to strengthen it. BNM is dedicated to stepping up efforts to improve cross-border payment efficiency by collaborating with industry stakeholders to address cross-border payment concerns such as high prices, slow speeds, restricted access, and insufficient transparency.
Fintech currently refers to a wide range of financial operations that may be performed without the aid of a person, such as money transfers, check depositing with your smartphone, applying for credit without visiting a bank office, and seeking funds for a company beginning, or monitoring your investments.
Information Technology, Internet, and Software
The fast and advanced growth of software and cloud-based platforms has altered practically every industry’s goods and services. As cutting-edge technology such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things grow more prominent in people’s daily lives, new issues and questions arise for the tech businesses developing solutions. Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and virtual reality are the popular sectors in today’s internet industry.
Today, artificial intelligence (AI) is being integrated into numerous social and corporate operations. This development will continue as artificial intelligence is continuously enhanced and personalized to help in more ways, making it more flexible and adaptable to a wide range of industries. AI is here to stay, and it is becoming increasingly integrated into our daily lives. AI has already entered the automotive and healthcare industries. AI is the core technology for self-driving cars and the healthcare industry with virtual doctor visits.
Virtual reality (VR) is a natural step for the (already massive) video game industry, and its flexibility demonstrates its sustainability. According to Forbes, Covid-19 has increased the need for digital cooperation. Through its business applications, enhanced and virtual reality are being incorporated into the financial, entertainment, transportation, retail, healthcare, and security sectors.
The cloud computing industry as a whole is becoming more streamlined and accessible. Data streams are becoming considerably more portable, and workloads are becoming more portable, especially to hosted private, hosted on-premises, and public cloud infrastructures.
Renewable and Alternative Energy
Renewable Energy (RE) has emerged as one of the fastest-growing forms of energy generation as the globe responds to the push for “more sustainable energy” and “less carbon.” By 2040, renewable energy is expected to be the leading source of power. Renewable Energy refers to any kinds of sustainable energy such as solar, biomass, biogas, mini-hydro, and geothermal energy. Solar energy is the most generally used renewable energy in Malaysian daily life. For instance, photovoltaic (PV) systems employ solar cells to convert direct sunlight into power and generate the electricity and hot water.
Solar energy became the most popular renewable energy source because it has the ability to reduce long-term energy expenditures while simultaneously cutting short-term energy expenses. Many federal, state, and municipal governments also provide rebates or tax credits to encourage investment in solar energy. As a result, renewable energy has enormous development potential and is critical to conserving our environment and reducing pollution.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Malaysia, as a trading nation, is constantly looking for new methods to expand its market and produce better products. Over the last several years, the Southeast Asian country has dramatically upgraded its economic industries in Malaysia, driving it to the forefront of the global market.
In recent decades, Malaysia’s industry has seen rapid evolution, from mass-scale production to the employment of robotics for increased efficiency. Malaysia has developed to implement automation into its systems and essential business operations with the emergence of Industry 4.0.
The revolution of Industry 4.0 will create the more new modern businesses into market. As a result, entrepreneurs are encouraged to create a creative and comprehensive and seek funding from venture capital.
If the firm or investor is interested in the proposal, it must then do due diligence, which involves a detailed analysis of the company’s business strategy, products, management, and operational history, among other things.
References
Top 10 most popular industries in Malaysia
Revolution of Industrial Malaysia
The importance of the digital healthcare services
Future learning mode in Malaysia
Understanding the future of the financial sector