The World Bank Group (WBG) and the Government of Malaysia agreed in December 2019 to extend the operation of the WBG’s Hub in Kuala Lumpur for an additional five year period from FY21-25. The Hub will take on a new name - The World Bank Group Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Finance Hub in Malaysia - to reflects the development ambitions of Malaysia to achieve inclusive growth, greater shared prosperity and developed nation status; and to retain its global leadership role in the area of sustainable finance.
In its start-up phase from 2016-2020, the Hub, named the ‘Global Knowledge and Research Hub’, focused on disseminating Malaysia’s development experiences and policy innovations for the benefit of other countries; conducting original economic research; and sharing global experience and expertise in support of Malaysia’s development priorities.
In terms of thematic areas, the Hub concentrated its knowledge and research work on topics related to the Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions (EFI) and Human Development (HD) clusters with a heavy emphasis on financial services development. It is the first office of its kind for WBG, merging three pillars of work, and merging operational work with Development Economics (DEC) research.
Supporting Inclusive Growth: This thematic area will consist of knowledge and research work related to growth and inclusion, private sector competitiveness and human capital development.
Promoting Sustainable and Islamic Finance: Within this broad thematic area, the Hub’s knowledge and research work will focus on: sustainable finance for climate action, resilient and inclusive financial sector and Islamic finance for sustainable development.
Strengthening Governance: This thematic area will comprise knowledge and research work focused on strengthening public sector institutions, enhancing public sector productivity and strengthening public finance and transparency.