RM329.5bil in approved investment

Policies implemented by govt are helping with investor confidence, says Anwar

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia recorded its highest approved investment totalling RM329.5bil in 2023, which was 23% higher compared to 2022.

“From the total investment, foreign investment was the main contributor with a total 57.2% compared to domestic investment amounting to 42.8%,” said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic).

“This excellent performance was supported by an increase of 35.1% in domestic investment as much as 15.3% for foreign investment,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

The matter was presented during the National Investment Council’s Second Meeting yesterday.

Anwar, who is the Finance Minister, said this was a good indicator that the pro-investment policies implemented through a whole-of-government approach has begun to bear fruit in terms of investor confidence.

“The nation’s investment landscape has seen encouraging performance and reflects the recovery and revival of the national economy throughout the year under the Madani government,” said the Prime Minister.

He said the total approved investments involved 5,101 projects which have the potential of creating 127,000 new job opportunities.

“The service sector recorded the highest investment which contributed more than half (51.1%) of the total approved investment totalling RM168.4bil, followed by the manufacturing sector with RM152bil (46.1%), and the primary industries sector at RM9.1bil (2.8%),” he added.

Anwar, who chaired the meeting, said that it also discussed the direction of digital investments in the country in line with the rapid development of the digital economy sector, which represents an important sector in strengthening the national investment agenda.

“The digital economy in Malaysia had contributed a total of 23.2% of GDP in 2021, and is forecast to 25.5% by 2025,” he said.

According to Anwar, between 2021 and September 2023, a total 396 digital-related projects were approved with an investment value of RM128.9bil, including projects that were approved by the National Committee on Investments (NC).

He also noted that investments in digital projects were expected to create 36,553 job opportunities for locals.

Among the approved digital investments were in the sectors such as data centres, cloud computing, data hosting, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI).

The presence of leading, globally well-known digital companies and market leaders in Malaysia also give an important signal that the country has an attractive investment ecosystem which is conducive for digital investment, said Anwar.

“So, the government should facilitate potential digital investments as effectively as possible without compromising data security and national sovereignty,” he added.