KUALA LUMPUR: 71% of approved foreign investments worth RM282.2bil have been realised as of Sept last year, the Dewan Rakyat was told. Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said this covered 966 manufacturing projects approved between 2022 and Sept last year.
"These realised investments have created 141,470 job opportunities," said Johari in a parliamentary written reply dated Jan 21. Johari said 7,856 of these jobs offered salaries exceeding RM10,000, while 21,550 positions paid between RM5,000 and RM10,000.
"The majority of these high-income roles are in management, professional, engineering, supervisory and skilled technical categories. Additionally, 31,880 jobs offer salaries between RM3,000 and RM5,000," he said.
But, he said the largest portion - 80,184 jobs - paid below RM3,000, dominated by machine operators, assembly workers, sales, clerical and general staff. Meanwhile, Johari said a total of 1,361 foreign manufacturing projects worth RM357.1bil were approved during the same period.
With 71% being realised, Johari said another 356 projects worth RM60.1bil were still in the planning stages, involving location selection and discussions with developers.
"Only 2.8% of the approved projects were not implemented," he added.
Johari said approved investments typically took between 18 and 24 months to be implemented, depending on the scale and complexity of the project, as well as current economic conditions. He said a project is considered realised once it had either commenced operations, begun machinery installation, or was in the process of construction or leasing premises.
To expedite the implementation of projects, Johari said the government was utilising a whole-of-government approach through the Project Implementation and Facilitation Office (Track) and the Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre (IMFC) at the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida).
He added that the National Investment Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, also acts as the highest executive body to provide strategic directions, particularly for iconic and high-impact projects.
