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Contents Introduction

This paper reexamines energy efficiency differentials between foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) and local plants in Malaysian manufacturing using data on medium-large plants from the industrial census for 2000 and sample surveys for 2001-2004. Both descriptive statistics and results of econometric estimation indicate that MNEs had a moderate tendency to use relatively little fuel, which was relatively dirty source of energy during this period in Malaysia. MNEs also had a weak tendency to have high electricity intensities as well as low total energy intensities. However, differences in energy intensities between MNEs and local plants were not very pervasive and varied depending on industry and estimation methodology. In short, these results reinforce previous ones, suggesting that both MNEs and local plants generally used energy with similar efficiency during this period in Malaysian manufacturing. The results also suggest that if the goal is to promote greater energy efficiency in Malaysia, there is no reason to discriminate among ownership groups.