Key insights
- Malaysia placed 15 companies on Best Workplaces in Asia 2026, and 13 of them sit inside Asia’s top 50.
- Schneider Electric climbed 62 places, the largest gain by any company on a Southeast Asian list.
- Micron Technology ranks 7th in Asia, in a country short roughly 45,000 engineers a year.
Malaysia placed 15 companies on the Best Workplaces in Asia 2026 list, the smallest count of the six Southeast Asian markets. It also produced the most concentrated list in Asia, with 13 of those 15 sitting inside Asia’s top 50.
No other country placing ten or more companies has a higher share of its list in that band. Indonesia comes closest at 79%, Singapore reaches 64% and Vietnam 58%.
Malaysia sent fewer companies and sent them further up.
How many Malaysian companies made Best Workplaces in Asia 2026?
Fifteen. Fourteen sit in the large category, meaning 500 or more employees across Asia, and one in the small and medium category, covering 50 to 499.
The list names 200 companies in total, 100 in each size group. Malaysia ranks thirteenth across Asia by company count, level with Sri Lanka.
| Market | Companies | Share inside Asia’s top 50 |
|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | 15 | 87% |
| Indonesia | 19 | 79% |
| Thailand | 18 | 72% |
| Singapore | 25 | 64% |
| Philippines | 20 | 60% |
| Vietnam | 24 | 58% |
Why is Malaysia’s list the most top-heavy in Asia?
Ten of Malaysia’s fifteen companies rank inside Asia’s top 25, and six of them inside the top 10. Every one of Asia’s five highest-ranked large workplaces appears on the Malaysian list.
| Company | Industry | Asia placement |
|---|---|---|
| Hilton | Hospitality | 1st |
| Marriott International | Hospitality | 2nd |
| Cisco | Information technology | 3rd |
| AbbVie | Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals | 4th |
| DHL | Transportation | 5th |
| Micron Technology | Manufacturing and production | 7th |
| HEMMERSBACH | Information technology | 7th, small and medium |
The single small and medium entrant did the same thing. HEMMERSBACH is new to the list this year and arrived at 7th in Asia, straight into the top ten of its category.
Micron Technology ranks 7th in Asia and climbed 12 places in a year. That placement sits at the centre of Malaysia’s industrial ambitions rather than at the edge of them.
Malaysia’s National Semiconductor Strategy aims to train and upskill 60,000 high-skilled engineers by 2030. The gap it is working against is severe. The industry needs roughly 50,000 skilled engineers to meet current demand, while Malaysian universities produce about 5,000 engineering graduates a year.
Then there is the leak. The president of the Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association has put the country’s annual loss to brain drain at an average of 15% of its talent. Separately, Aon’s 2025 turnover study projects 18.2% of Malaysian skilled workers changing jobs during 2026.
A strategy that depends on 60,000 engineers cannot survive that arithmetic on salary alone. Which is what makes an employee-decided list read as an operational document in Malaysia. The companies on it hold measured evidence about why their people stay, in a market where staying is the scarce behaviour.
Information technology is the largest single group at five of the fifteen companies, followed by financial services and hospitality with two each.
Which Malaysian companies climbed in 2026?
Schneider Electric climbed 62 places in Asia, from 78th to 16th. Great Place To Work’s year-on-year data shows that is the largest gain by any company appearing on a Southeast Asian list this year, and it is matched by only one other company across the whole of Asia.
| Company | 2025 | 2026 | Places gained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schneider Electric | 78 | 16 | 62 |
| Micron Technology | 19 | 7 | 12 |
| AbbVie | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Cisco | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Marriott International | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Metlife | 21 | 20 | 1 |
Five Malaysian companies are new to the list: Allianz at 25th, Hilti at 26th, Experian at 38th, Mastercard at 65th, and HEMMERSBACH at 7th among small and medium workplaces.
Hilton held first place in Asia for a second consecutive year. IGT Solutions held 37th exactly, which in a field this competitive counts as holding ground.
What does Best Workplaces in Asia 2026 measure?
Employees answer 60 statements on a five-point scale and two open questions. The statements cover whether leaders are reachable and honest, whether pay and promotion are fair, and whether the work feels worth doing.
Consistency is what separates the list from a satisfaction score. Great Place To Work measures how far responses differ inside a single company, so a business where head office is thriving and the plant floor has given up ranks below one holding steady across every team.
The order is set by the people who work there. Placement comes from survey responses and nothing else.
Now in its twelfth year, the Asia list is part of a global program publishing Best Workplaces lists in more than 60 countries, backed by 30 years of research and benchmarking data representing more than 100 million employees worldwide.
Frequently asked questions
How many Malaysian companies are on Best Workplaces in Asia 2026?
Fifteen Malaysian companies made the Best Workplaces in Asia 2026 list. Fourteen are in the large category, for organisations with 500 or more employees across Asia, and one is in the small and medium category, covering 50 to 499 employees. Thirteen of the fifteen rank inside Asia’s top 50, the highest share of any country placing ten or more companies on this year’s list.
Which Malaysian company ranked highest on Best Workplaces in Asia 2026?
Hilton took first place across Asia among large workplaces and appears on the Malaysian list, followed by Marriott International, Cisco, AbbVie and DHL. Micron Technology ranked 7th after climbing 12 places. HEMMERSBACH placed 7th among small and medium workplaces on debut. Rankings show Asia-wide positions within each size group, so one company can appear on several country lists carrying the same number.
Are the Best Workplaces in Asia rankings paid for?
No. Placement on the Best Workplaces in Asia list is decided by employee survey results and nothing else. Employees complete the confidential Trust Index Survey, and their responses determine whether a company makes the list and where it ranks. Companies cannot buy a position, and no external panel or judging committee sets the order. Surveys must also meet strict requirements for distribution and response rates.
What is Malaysia’s engineering talent shortage?
Malaysia’s semiconductor industry needs roughly 50,000 skilled engineers to meet current demand, while the country’s universities produce about 5,000 engineering graduates a year. The National Semiconductor Strategy targets training and upskilling 60,000 high-skilled engineers by 2030. The Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association has also put annual losses to brain drain at an average of 15% of the country’s talent.
When was Best Workplaces in Asia 2026 announced?
The 2026 Best Workplaces in Asia list was published on Thursday 10 September 2026, the twelfth edition of the list. This year’s edition drew on surveys of companies employing more than 8.9 million people across Asia, with more than 3.8 million individual employee responses, and the listed companies were surveyed across 36 countries and territories.
