KUALA LUMPUR: Figures of realised investments in Malaysia for 2023 will be made public in the first week of April, says Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz (pic).
The Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister said 2023 recorded approved investments totalling RM329.5bil, which was also the highest in history.
"We will be announcing in the first week of April.
"The numbers are being finalised to show how much (investments) had started in terms of the RM329.5bil," Tengku Zafrul said at the Concorde Club meeting on Thursday (March 21) at Wisma Bernama.
The Concorde Club is an informal group of editors and senior journalists meeting with politicians and key policy makers.
Previous guests of the Concorde Club, led by Bernama chairman and SMG advisor Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, include Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Anthony Loke, and Nurul Izzah.
According to Tengku Zafrul, the realisation of approved investments usually took between two to three years.
Tengku Zafrul said that on average, the annual implementation performance from 2021 to 2023 showed that more than 85% of approved manufacturing projects have been executed.
To ensure that approved investments were realised, Tengku Zafrul said it was imperative to focus on execution.
"That is why the Prime Minister, through our national investment council, is pushing all parties in the government, especially ministries, state governments and local authorities to speed up the process.
"There’s definitely room for improvement. We have to make sure approved investments turn into realised investments and no unnecessary challenges for investors," said Tengku Zafrul.
At the same time, Tengku Zafrul said that Malaysia was presently seeing a positive flow of investments and the country should capitalise on its strength, among them the green economy and the semiconductor industry.
"For semiconductors, where Malaysia has a major market share in the global space, we should encourage more Malaysians to invest in this sector as well," said Tengku Zafrul.
The approved investments of RM329.5bil last year were 23% higher compared to 2022 which recorded RM264.6bil.
The total approved investments involved 5,101 projects and could potentially create over 127,000 new job opportunities for the people and country.
The services sector recorded the most investments, contributing over half or 51.1% of total approved investments at RM168.4bil, followed by the manufacturing sector at RM152bil (46.1%) and primary industries at RM9.1bil (2.8%).
