Malaysia registers RM83.7bil in approved investments in 1Q

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has recorded a total of RM83.7bil in approved investments in the first quarter of the year, of which more than half were secured from foreign sources, said the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida).

According to the agency, foreign investments made up 56.2% or RM47bil of the total investment, with the remaining 34.8% or RM36.7bil coming from domestic sources.

The investments, which top the RM74.1bil in commitments made in the same three months of 2023, will flow into 1,257 projects and create 29,027 new jobs for Malaysians.

Austria served as the largest foreign investor with RM30.1bil or 64% in approved investments, followed by Singapore (RM5.6bil), the Netherlands (RM3.6bil), China (RM3.4bil) and the US (RM632.8mil).

Of the investments, the manufacturing sector contributed RM42bil, representing a stellar 174.9% increase compared to the first quarter of 2023. According to Mida, a total of 252 approved projects in the sector will create 17,991 new jobs in the country.

"Of these, 80.8% (14,528) are for Malaysians, with 50.6% in management, professional, technical, supervisory, and skilled labour roles," it said.

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Meanwhile, the services sectors saw an investment of RM393.bil across 994 projects, which will create 10,988 employment opportunities. Of the various sub-sectors, information and communications and real estate were the top performers, accounting for the lion's share of the approved investments.

Mida noted that investments made in sectors stipulated by the National Investment Aspirations came to RM53.7bil, or 64.1% of the total approved investments. Distributed across 252 projects, these investments are expected to create 17,056 new job opportunities.

Reflecting on the increase in investment activity in the country, Senator Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, contrasted the positive performance against the country's recent poor showing in the International Institute for Management Development's (IMD) competitiveness ranking.

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He said that while short-term indicators of the business landscape are useful, the real proof of Malaysia's competitiveness is in the actual, continuous inflow of investments into key target sectors outlined by NIMP 2030.

These sectors, he noted, include semiconductors, data centres, renewable energy and electric vehicles.

"This is why we will also continue to focus on longer-term industrial reforms and other strategic policy efforts to nurture a conducive investment ecosystem, to drive productivity as well as sustainable, inclusive growth that will pave the way for Malaysia to be one of the Top 30 largest economies globally by 2033."