PM Najib writes on Malaysia's steady but sure growth

“WELCOME to Kuala Lumpur, the IPO town where bankers are enjoying a boom of breathtaking proportions.” This is how one journalist described the recent initial public offerings of Felda Global Ventures Holdings and IHH Healthcare on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange, in the world's second- and third-biggest listings this year.

Equating Kuala Lumpur with major financial centres such as Hong Kong or Singapore, as some reporters have done in recent weeks, is perhaps indicative of the hype that tends to surround major stock market listings. But the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange is gaining in strength; it hit a record high in July. By bucking the gloomy global trend, it also mirrors the wider Malaysian economy.