Includes web links to local trade fair or show authorities and local newspapers, trade publications, radio/TV/cable information.
Last Published: 8/19/2019

Advertising approaches differ according to the market sector. For consumer goods, advertising techniques include the full range of online media [e.g., FaceBook, Twitter], television, radio, newspaper, outdoor advertisements and other approaches. Extravagant product launches, once deemed necessary only in Singapore, are becoming the norm in Malaysia. Due to health and religious concerns, there are prohibitions on most types of advertising for tobacco and alcoholic beverages.

Malaysia has more than 7 million TV households. Rising GDP and income levels have increased affordability of content, thereby favoring growth of various TV platforms. The market’s cultural diversity has given rise to channels based on ethnicity and language for the three principal languages:  Bahasa Melayu, Tamil and Chinese. There are three government and four commercial (free to air) channels operated by Media Prima. With terrestrial digitization efforts undertaken by the government, this segment shows promising growth as leading broadcasters split up existing channels into genres. Advertising revenue will drive the transition and growth of channels. As to pay TV, there are currently two providers (Astro and HyppTV).

Malaysia has several English-language newspapers, the largest being the New Straits Times and the Star. The primary business-oriented paper is the The Edge. The major Malay-language newspapers are Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian, while the largest Chinese papers are Sin Chew Daily and China Press.  There are also Nanban and Tamil Nesan for Tamil language newspaper.
Business-oriented magazines include Malaysian Business, Malaysian Industry, Malaysian Investor, Malaysian Entrepreneur, Malaysia Retailer, and Business Today. Published news on Malaysia can be accessed through various sites including MalaysiaNews.

A list of trade promotion events to connect U.S. and Malaysian business partners can be found on the U.S. Commercial Service’s BuyUSA Malaysia website (BuyUSA). U.S. firms can also advertise on the BuyUSA Malaysia website through the Featured U.S. Exporters (FUSE) page. Commercial Service Malaysia also promotes companies and events through its Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/USCSMalaysia.

Domestic trade fairs (as well as trade fairs in Singapore) provide U.S. firms with an opportunity to increase brand awareness and find trade partners. The following is a list of trade exhibition centers:


Major trade event organizers include:

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.