Malaysia receives nearly RM72b in investments in January-July

The FMM is concerned about a possible cumulative gas price increase of 22.6% by end of 2019.

JOHOR BARU: Malaysia has received RM71.8bil in investments in the January-July 2016 period in the manufacturing and services sectors.

Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) chief executive officer Datuk Azman Mahmod said the investments involved new and expension projects.

"They are from 262 projects and the investments will be realised within the next one to two years depending on the scale of the projects," he said.

Azman was speaking at the ground breaking ceremony of the RM30.6mil SEW Eurodrive plant in Fronteir industrial park in Ulu Tiram near here.

He said the RM71.8bil investments in the pipeline include the life sciences, food processing, health,  education, machinery and oil and gas sectors.

"The figure reflects the strong confidence among investors on Malaysia's political stability which makes them to continue investing in the country," said Azman.

He said Johor was one of the strong contenders in the country to attract the investments into the state but declined to give more details.

Azman said it was becoming more challenging in attracting new  investors into  the country in view of the uncertainties in the global economy growth.

"However, Malaysia is well positioned to continue attracting new investments as proven in the past even during difficult times," he said.