Malaysia a huge shopping draw

Malaysian Shopping Malls Association president H.C. Chan said this was evident from the fact that Malaysia was increasingly becoming the choice destination for tourists, compared with Hong Kong and Singapore.

"Malaysia has come a long way, from zero to hero. There are 350,000 shopping malls today, as compared with 10 years ago.

"The government's removal of tax on some 300 items is another plus factor."

He said goods sold here were comparatively cheaper, as mall rental rates were lower than in Hong Kong and Singapore.

He said Malaysia had 3 shopping malls that were among the top 10 biggest in the world and had won many international awards.

"Shopping tourism is a booming sector of the tourism industry and Malaysia intends to tap into its potential.

This is an increase of 5.7% from the 2011 shopping expenditure of RM17.5 billion ($5.3 billion).

"Malaysia's tourism industry is the second largest foreign exchange earner for the country and it will continue to flourish."