KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 2): Malaysia attracted a total of RM123.3 billion worth of approved investments involving 1,714 projects in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors for the period of January to June 2022.
Foreign direct investments remained the major contributor, at 70.9% or RM87.4 billion, with China at the top spot (RM48.6 billion), followed by Germany (RM9 billion), Singapore (RM6 billion), Brunei (RM5.1 billion) and the Netherlands (RM4.1 billion).
Investments from domestic sources made up the remaining 29.1% or RM35.9 billion, according to Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) in a statement on Friday (Sept 2).
The approved investments for this period will generate 57,771 new jobs in the country.
MIDA highlighted that the services sector played an important role in the country's economic recovery during the period under review, as it accounted for 63.3% of the total approved investments, or RM78 billion.
“The stellar performance for the services sector exceeded expectations for January to June 2022, an increase of 48.8% from the achievement attained in the same period in 2021.”
Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector contributed RM43.1 billion, and the primary sector with RM2.2 billion.
For state-approved projects, five major states, namely Johor, Selangor, Sabah, Kedah and Penang, contributed RM103.5 billion or 83.9% of the total approved investments.
Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said Malaysia is on the right trajectory to secure more high-quality, high impact and capital-intensive projects, with the services sector being the key growth driver for the economy and the largest contributor for approved investments for the first half of this year.
“In maintaining the momentum, MITI will continue to strengthen the country’s competitiveness by developing economic complexity, nurturing a strong industrial ecosystem with innovation intensity, enhancing inclusivity by creation of high-income jobs, and promoting opportunities to participate in the regional and global supply chains.
“Driven by the national investment aspirations, we will intensify our focus towards sectors such as digital economy, electrical and electronics, pharmaceutical, chemical and aerospace, with significant economic potential and sustainable long-term growth,” he added.
The government has lined-up strategic and focused trade and investment missions targeted to capture investments in high technology, innovation and research-driven industries that will complement and further strengthen the Malaysian industrial ecosystem.