Factors influencing FDI inflows to Asean countries a comparative study on Malaysia's FDI strategy

Research Background: The study was initiated due to the significance of FDI’s contribution to the economicdevelopment of Southeast Asia as a whole. The effective drivers influencing the flows are always in quest yetambiguous, causing many countries to struggle with juggling its effects and blind play their strategy. It was fromthe first cohort of five founding members of ASEAN, which took the lead in attracting foreign investment. Beingone of the founding members, Malaysia bore the brunt of this impediment, seeing its competitive advantages erodewith the least appeal to many foreign investors, losing the majority of FDI shares to its peers in the neighbouringcountries since the late ‘90s and worsening in recent years.Objectives: The study aims to discover the dynamics features of each driver explaining the inflows of ASEAN FDIin recent years. Thus interpret the finding in the context of competitive advantages for Malaysia and determineMalaysia’s priorities in interacting with these actors to strengthen its competitive position.