Record FDI flows into Asean - inflow grew by 5% year-on-year to a record high of US$224 billion in 2022

These are rich pickings for investment-seekers like Malaysia. Nonetheless, the window to capitalise on this may not last long, which is why the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry is firing on all cylinders to capture as much of these investments as possible. — Reuters

I WAS in Semarang, Indonesia, recently, for the 55th Asean Economic Ministers’ (AEM) meeting, where the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development tabled Asean’s foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow for 2022.

Impressively, this had grown by 5% year-on-year, to a total of US$224bil, bucking the trend in various parts of the world, and amid the 12% decline of global FDI in 2022.