{"id":436483,"date":"2026-05-07T07:28:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T07:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/436483\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T07:28:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T07:28:36","slug":"as-kuala-lumpur-rises-as-a-global-financial-hub-trx-marks-the-next-chapter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/436483\/","title":{"rendered":"As Kuala Lumpur rises as a global financial hub, TRX marks the next chapter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kuala Lumpur is gaining ground as a leading financial hub, climbing three spots in the Global Financial Centres Index 39 to rank second in Asean last year. As competition intensifies across the region, the question for global business is no longer about whether to expand, but where to base that growth.<\/p>\n

At the heart of Malaysia\u2019s shift is Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), a purpose-built international financial centre developed to support the country\u2019s financial ecosystem and global ambitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cTRX is a national economic enabler that is designed to generate economic opportunities for the country and attract international businesses to base themselves in Kuala Lumpur,\u201d says Dato\u2019 Azmar Talib, CEO of TRX City, the project\u2019s master developer and the custodian of Malaysia\u2019s international financial centre, which is wholly owned by the Ministry of Finance.<\/p>\n

\"TRXTRX brings together grade A office spaces, residential towers, a retail mall, a hotel and a park in central Kuala Lumpur, located above the only interchange station for MRT lines 1 and 2. Photo: Getty<\/p>\n

For Azmar, who has guided the TRX project from vision to reality over the past 15 years, building an international financial centre means thinking beyond individual buildings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to create things that can evolve, that can be scaled up over time. And they must relate to and be relevant to those who want to do international business,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

That approach has shaped TRX as a fully integrated district, curated to meet the needs of global companies that choose it as the place to set up their headquarters, regional hubs, centres of excellence and more.<\/p>\n

Rather than focusing solely on office space, TRX has been designed around people, combining connectivity, infrastructure and lifestyle within a single ecosystem. Located above Kuala Lumpur\u2019s only MRT interchange, it offers a mix of workspaces, retail, hospitality and green space spanning 28 hectares (70 acres).<\/p>\n

\"Dato\u2019Dato\u2019 Azmar Talib is CEO of TRX City, the master developer of the TRX project, and has spent more than 15 years guiding the concept for Malaysia\u2019s international financial centre towards reality. Photo: SCMP<\/p>\n

This emphasis on liveability is closely tied to Malaysia\u2019s growing appeal as a talent base. The country is placed at No 25 in the 2025 IMD World Talent Ranking, reflecting its ability to attract and develop skilled professionals. TRX says it is already home to more than 20,000 knowledge workers across finance and technology, with that number expected to double as the district matures. According to Azmar, around 90 per cent of TRX\u2019s tenants are international.<\/p>\n

Among them is CGS International Securities, which sees TRX as a platform for regional connectivity. \u201cAs an international financial centre, TRX allows us to super-connect and join the dots within Malaysia and across the region,\u201d says Alan Inn, country head of Malaysia for CGS International Securities.<\/p>\n

The presence of global players is also helping shape the next phase of Malaysia\u2019s financial services industry. Ant International, a spin-off of fintech company Ant Group, has established its Asean hub at TRX, making Kuala Lumpur its base to expand digital payments and financial services across the region\u2019s emerging markets. Ant Group is an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the South China Morning Post.<\/p>\n

\"FromFrom its Asean hub at TRX, Ant International is expanding its digital payment services across the region. Photo: SCMP<\/p>\n

Jake Xue, general manager of global business services and support at Ant International, notes that TRX\u2019s concentration of financial institutions and partners also makes it easier to collaborate.<\/p>\n

As global capital and talent become more mobile, international financial centres like TRX are playing an increasingly important role in determining where that activity flows. In Kuala Lumpur, TRX is not only reflecting the city\u2019s rise, but it is also helping define it.<\/p>\n

Watch the video to learn more about TRX and the companies operating there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kuala Lumpur is gaining ground as a leading financial hub, climbing three spots in the Global Financial Centres…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":436484,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[576,72,114,113,240,61,60,166,43,387,10178,850,80,90,386],"class_list":["post-436483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-asia","tag-business","tag-china","tag-economy","tag-hong-kong","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-lifestyle","tag-news","tag-opinion","tag-south-china-morning-post","tag-sport","tag-technology","tag-us","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/436484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}