凭借优越的地理位置、多元的经济结构、广泛的贸易联系，以及更低的商业成本，位于东南亚心脏地带的马来西亚正对中国企业产生愈发强劲的吸引力，中国律所也加紧了布局这一东盟门户的步伐。
2024年是中国和马来西亚建交50周年。伴随中美地缘政治关系紧张，中国的对外交往正不断转向东盟，中马也借助建交周年，持续深化在贸易、投资、粮食、能源、数字经济、环境保护等领域的合作。
作为东盟创始国及《区域全面经济伙伴关系协定》（RCEP）门户，马来西亚在区域合作中扮演着重要角色，这一角色也不断促进其自身国际地位的提升。
根据德勤公布的数据，2024年上半年，马来西亚成为了东南亚最具活力的资本市场：共吸引21家企业上市，募资额达到4.5亿美元。
“马来西亚拥有多元化的产业结构和强大的区域经济影响力，其快速发展的数字经济、科技创新和基础设施建设项目，吸引了大量跨国公司和投资者。”国浩律师事务所资深外籍法律顾问方维城律师观察到。6月中旬，总部位于中国的国浩刚刚成立了马来西亚办公室，由方律师担任主任。
“持续强劲的外部投资和内部经济发展将给马来西亚带来更多机遇，其在跨境投融资、商事争议解决、贸易、劳动、合规、知识产权等方面的法律需求也日益旺盛。”方律师说。
同样在6月中旬落地马来西亚的还有来自中国的盈科律师事务所。盈科马来西亚执行主任要艳菲是一名国际注册会计师(FCCA)，专业领域涵盖企业合规与风险管理。要主任告诉ALB，伴随中马交往日益密切，布局马来西亚成为了完善盈科“全球一小时法律服务生态圈”的重要举措。
“过去15年，中国都是马来西亚的最大贸易伙伴国。2023年，马来西亚政府批准了来自中国的64项投资，总价值高达26亿美元，创造了1万余个新就业机会。”
“此外，中马两国还在今年签署了14项合作备忘录协定，并在经贸领域制定了‘马中经贸合作五年规划’，同时加强数字经济和绿色发展领域的投资合作。预期两国将在更多领域实现合作。”要主任说。
要主任观察到，2023年至今，在贸易服务互通、企业商务考察、城市文旅推广、投资绿地项目及并购项目等方面，中资企业对马来西亚的投资热情与关注度经历了高速增长。
中企出海的“最优选择”
去年12月，国浩创始暨执行合伙人、国浩发展研究院院长李淳律师曾赴吉隆坡考察设立马来西亚办公室，他特别观察到马来西亚发展过程中愈发浓厚的科技创新色彩对于中国企业的吸引力。
以在美国封锁之下，中国正寻求新发展之路的半导体、大数据等产业为例，李律师指出，“马来西亚槟城是全球半导体封测产业重镇，有‘东方硅谷’之称，汇聚了马来西亚70%的泛半导体产业链企业。”同时，马政府也在今年推出了‘国家半导体产业战略’，计划提供至少53亿美元补贴，吸引约1062亿美元的投资，主要投向芯片设计、先进封装和半导体制造设备等关键领域。
此外，2023年中国数据中心运营商万国数据的超大规模数据中心园区落地马来西亚柔佛州。“得益于紧邻新加坡的战略性区位，柔佛州有望成为东南亚数据中心产业的重要基地。”秦淮数据也在去年于柔佛州开建了百兆瓦级别的超大规模定制化园区。
“因此，相关法律服务的需求也在增长。”李律师说。
马来西亚对于中国企业的另一重吸引力，则在于其联通世界的地理位置——坐拥马六甲海峡，马来西亚是国际贸易和航运的重要枢纽。
作为“东南亚四小虎”之一，马来西亚拥有雄厚的制造业基础，在中国制造产品不断遭遇美欧出口管制的情况下，将生产基地向马来西亚转移成为了中国企业的优选，再利用该国便利的交通和物流网络，中国企业能够更有效地服务于全球客户。
律所布局的关键节点
2013年，马来西亚正式开放法律服务市场，外国律所可以以联营方式与本地所展开合作、提供本地法律服务；亦或注册为“外国律所”，提供外国法相关服务。
方维城律师指出，自此之后，“马来西亚鼓励外国律师和律所进入市场。作为国际化程度较高的国家，马来西亚法律市场不仅服务于本国企业和个人，还吸引了来自全球的法律服务需求”。
中国企业的实际需求、友好的落地环境为中国律所加速布局马来西亚打下基础，与此同时，布局此地对于中国律所下一步的全球化发展具备更深远的意义。
“潜在趋势表明，未来3-5年可能是中国向东盟单边开放的战略窗口期，中国将推出面向东盟国家的更多积极主动的开放政策，包括但不限于出台跨境资金进出自由便利的利好政策。因此，在大批中资企业走进东盟前，律所也需要率先入驻东盟市场，做好前期铺垫。”方律师说。
“中国律所可以以马来西亚为中心，整合并进一步开拓在东南亚地区的业务和资源。并以马来西亚为据点，辐射印度尼西亚、新加坡、泰国、文莱等东南亚市场的法律业务。”
此外，马来西亚的宗教文化与种族多样性也可以帮助中国律所在友善的环境中“练习”对接更广阔的市场。如李淳律师所指出的，“马来西亚以伊斯兰教为官方宗教，其与伊斯兰国家以及其他经济体之间的联系密切，同样有利于中国所前往布局并提供延伸服务”。
下一步发展
借助RCEP带来的红利，李淳律师相信下一步马来西亚的律师行业将经历跨越式发展，“行业需要迎接新的资本、新的产业机会”，打破现有的律所体量不大、业务相对单一、律师能力较为均衡等瓶颈。
方维城律师认为，马来西亚律师行业的人才优势值得注意，“马来西亚拥有丰富的人才资源，本地执业律师通常有海外学习经历或接受过国际培训。此外，马来西亚律师资格考试使用英联邦国家通用体系，因此经常会有其他英联邦国家执业律师以顾问身份加入”。
方律师告诉ALB，新成立的国浩马来西亚办公室将为客户提供全方位服务，并重点关注于科技、电信、新能源绿色项目、半导体、物流、财富管理等领域的复杂跨境交易。
要艳菲主任则介绍道，盈科马来西亚将与马来西亚当地律所、财税机构等展开深入合作，协同为企业的投资和发展提供专业保障。
“盈科马来西亚的业务范围涵盖从投资咨询、公司注册、架构规划，到财、税、法律合规的咨询和落地服务，以满足企业跨境贸易、投资、并购等多元化发展。未来，我们也将以市场为导向，发展出更多、更精准满足中国、马来西亚以及其他国家投资者需求的服务产品。”她说。
此外，“盈科不仅协助中资企业在马来西亚的投资保障需求，同样也提供马来西亚企业在中国的法律保障。未来，我们希望通过盈科全球布局，为马来西亚企业提供全球服务助力，这必将带来中马专业领域服务的更深融合与突破”，要主任展望道。
Malaysia: the "Preferred Choice" for PRC Firms
With its favorable geographical location, diversified economic structure, extensive trade ties, and lower business costs, Malaysia, located in the heart of Southeast Asia, is becoming more and more attractive to Chinese companies. Chinese law firms are stepping up the pace of expansion to the ASEAN gateway.
The year 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Malaysia. As geopolitical tensions between China and the United States continue, China is shifting towards ASEAN for engagement. China and Malaysia are capitalizing on the celebration of the anniversary to deepen cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, food, energy, digital economy, and environmental protection.
As an ASEAN founding member and a gateway to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Malaysia plays an important role in regional cooperation, a role which continues to contribute to its international standing.
According to Deloitte, in the first half of 2024, Malaysia has seen the most active capital markets activities in Southeast Asia, raising US$450 million with 21 listings.
"With a diversified industry mix and strong regional economic presence, Malaysia has attracted a large number of multinationals and investors with its fast-growing digital economy, technology innovation, and infrastructure development projects," says Will Fung, senior foreign counsel at Grandall Law Firm. In mid-June, China-based Grandall Law Firm opened its Malaysian office headed by Fung.
Fung emphasizes that "continued strong foreign investment and internal economic development will bring more opportunities to Malaysia, stimulating legal needs in cross-border investment and financing, commercial dispute resolution, trade, labor, compliance, and intellectual property rights."
Yingke Law Firm from China also settled down in Malaysia at the same time. Maggie Yao Yanfei, executive director, Yingke Malaysia is a Fellow Chartered and Certified Accountant (FCCA) with expertise in corporate compliance and risk management. Yao tells ALB that the Malaysian office marks an important step for Yingke in facilitating its global “one-hour” legal services network with increasingly close ties between China and Malaysia.
"China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for the past 15 years. In 2023, the Malaysian government approved 64 investments totaling US$2.6 billion from China, creating more than 10,000 new jobs.”
"Meanwhile, China and Malaysia have inked 14 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) in various areas of cooperation this year and renewed a five-year economic and trade cooperation pact for intensified investment cooperation in digital economy and green development. The two countries will see opportunities for cooperation in more areas," says Yao.
Yao notices a palpable increase from 2023 in the enthusiasm and interest of Chinese companies in making investments in Malaysia and they target trade and service connectivity, corporate business visits, urban culture and tourism marketing, and greenfield and (M&A) projects.
BEST DESTINATION
Li Chun, founding and managing partner at Grandall Law Firm and dean of Grandall Development Research, visited Kuala Lumpur last December to open a local office. He emphasizes that Malaysia is a magnet for Chinese enterprises with its increasingly favorable environment for science and technology innovation.
China's semiconductor and big data sectors, for example, are seeking new paths of development amid U.S. tech sanctions. Li points out that "Penang, known as the Silicon Valley of the East, stands as a hub for global semiconductor packaging and testing, hosting 70% of Malaysia's semiconductor-related companies." Malaysia has announced the National Semiconductor Strategy this year, which includes providing at least US$5.3 billion in financial support and targeting US$106.2 billion in investment for its semiconductor industry. The government will focus on such key areas as chip design, advanced packaging, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
In 2023, GDS, an operator of data centers in China, launched its hyperscale data center park in Johor, Malaysia. "Strategically located close to Singapore, Johor is set to become an important powerhouse of data centers in Southeast Asia." Chindata also opened a customized hyperscale data center campus with 100 megawatts of capacity in Johor last year.
"All this has driven up demand for legal services,” says Li.
Malaysia is attractive to Chinese enterprises on the other hand for its geographic location that connects the world—sitting on the Straits of Malacca, Malaysia is an important hub for international trade and shipping.
Labeled as one of South Asia’s Four Tigers, Malaysia has a strong manufacturing base. At a time when the U.S. and Europe impose controls on manufacturing products from China, Chinese enterprises are moving their production bases to Malaysia so that they can capitalize on the country's convenient transportation and logistics network to better support global customers.
KEY NODE
In 2013, Malaysia liberalized its legal services market to allow foreign firms to provide local legal services by forming joint ventures with Malaysian firms or to provide foreign law-related services by registering as "foreign law firms" within its jurisdiction.
Fung noteSs that since then, "foreign lawyers and firms have been encouraged to practice in Malaysia. Driven by a high rate of globalization, the Malaysian legal market not only serves local businesses and individuals, but also attracts demand for legal services from around the world".
Given the actual demand of Chinese enterprises and a friendly environment, Chinese law firms are accelerating their presence in Malaysia, which has more far-reaching significance for their expansion around the world.
"Trends indicate that the next three to five years represent a strategic window of opportunity for China to unilaterally open up to ASEAN, and China will introduce more proactive opening-up policies towards ASEAN countries, including but not limited to facilitating the free flow of cross-border funds. Therefore, Chinese law firms need to expand their footprints in the ASEAN market so that they can get ready for more Chinese companies coming on the way."
"Chinese law firms can adopt a Malaysia-centric approach to integrate their resources and develop their business in Southeast Asia. With their foothold in Malaysia, they can also grow their business across South Asia including Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Brunei."
With its religious and ethnic diversity, Malaysia allows Chinese law firms to prepare themselves for a broader market in a friendly environment. As Li points out, "Malaysia has Islam as its official religion, and its close ties with Islamic countries and other economies are also conducive for Chinese law firms to set up their offices and provide services there."
THE NEXT STEP
Li believes that the Malaysian legal market will experience leapfrog development under the RECP agreement. "The industry needs to embrace new sources of capital and industry opportunities", to break the bottlenecks facing local law firms, like the size is relatively small, the services are not diverse, and the professionals have balanced capabilities.
Fung highlights the talent advantage in the Malaysian legal market. "Malaysia boasts a rich talent pool, and local lawyers either have studied overseas or received international training. In addition, Malaysia adopts the common system for solicitor qualifying exam as practiced in Commonwealth countries, and lawyers practicing in other Commonwealth countries will get involved as an advisor."
Fung also tells ALB that the Grandall Malaysia Office will provide a full range of services to clients, with its focus on complex cross-border transactions in the areas of technology, telecommunications, new energy green projects, semiconductors, logistics, and wealth management.
According to Yao, Yingke Malaysia will further work with local law firms and tax authorities to provide the safeguard for corporate investment and development.
"Yingke Malaysia can support our clients in pursuing diversified development of cross-border trade, investment, and M&A, with a business scope covering everything from investment consulting, company registration and structural planning to consulting and implementation of financial, tax and legal compliance. In the future, we will offer more market-oriented service products that can accurately meet the needs of investors in China, Malaysia and other countries."
"Yingke will not only help Chinese companies with their investment in Malaysia, but also provide legal protection for Malaysian companies in China. Looking forward, we will expand our global presence so as to support Malaysian companies in their provision of global services, which will surely facilitate deeper integration of professional services between both countries and bring more breakthroughs."
