Multinationals from Emerging Economies: Trends, Patterns and Determinants of Outward Direct Investment Made by Malaysian firms‖

Abstract

One significant change in the direction of international investment since the 1980s has been the growth of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) by multinational firms from Asian developing countries, and in particular firms from Malaysia. Although Malaysian firms are still small, relatively new in some industries, and young in the international market, however, their emerging development in cross-border economic activities appears to justify an adjustment of the conventional perspective, and their presence and growth are pressing concerns among their competitors. Some of these firms have become excellent international competitors. This provided the backdrop for the present study that conceptually examined the trends, patterns and determinants of OFDI made by Malaysian firms that have increased notably since the 1990s. This paper suggested a variety of theoretical and empirical issues for future research on outward foreign direct investment.