KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 19): Malaysia has secured a total of RM230.07 billion in foreign direct investment(FDI) commitments through a series of Trade and Investment Missions (TIM) held from January to September 2023, according to the Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

This includes RM23.07 billion in investment commitments from Japan, RM170 billion from China, RM24 billion from the Republic of Korea and RM13 billion from Singapore.

Out of the total investment commitments of RM230.07 billion, 51.38% or RM118.21 billion is expected to be finalized this year, Zafrul said in a written parliamentary reply to Datuk Zulkafperi Bin Hanapi (PN-Tanjung Karang).

Zafrul added that from January to June 2023, Malaysia managed to secure approved investments totaling RM132.6 billion in the service, manufacturing and primary sectors, involving 2,651 projects. This is expected to create 51,853 job opportunities in the country.

"Domestic direct investment (DDI) accounted for 52.2% or RM69.3 billion of the total approved investment driven by investments in the service sector, particularly in real estate and the primary sector. Total FDI contributed 47.8% or RM63.3 billion to approved investments," Zafrul said.

Compared with 2022, Zafrul noted that Malaysia recorded approved investments worth RM267.8 billion in the manufacturing, service and primary sectors, with FDI accounting for 61% or RM163.3 billion of the total investments while DDI represented 39% or RM104.4 billion of the total approved investments.

"China is the largest investor with the approval of 91 projects worth RM55.4 billion, followed by the United States (RM29.2 billion), the Netherlands (RM20.4 billion), Singapore (RM13.5 billion) and Japan (RM11.4 billion)," Zafrul added.

Answering a separate question from Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani (Bn-Titiwangsa), Zafrul stated that out of the RM170 billion investment commitment from China, several projects have made positive progress.

This includes GDS Services Ltd investing RM4.5 billion in a 10-year hyperscale data center project, LONGi Company allocating RM1.8 billion for expanding solar production in Selangor, ZTE Corporation partnering with Telekom Malaysia to establish 5G innovation centers with a RM200 million investment over five years, and Zhejiang Geely collaborating with DRB HICOM on the RM32 billion Automotive High-Technology Valley (AHTV) in Perak.

Zafrul added that aside from these, six projects with an investment of RM95.72 billion are expected to be finalized by the end of 2023, with the potential to create a total of 7,170 job opportunities, and one project with an investment of RM3.5 billion is expected to be finalized in 2025.

"MITI is fully committed to facilitating the investment projects, while the Project Implementation and Facilitation Office (TRACK) at Malaysian Investment Development Authority(MIDA) ensures a smooth approval and implementation process," said Zafrul.