Second half of 2018 sees slight jump in investments
Malaysia saw a slight jump in foreign and domestic investments in the second half of 2018, announced International Trade and Investment Minister Darell Leiking today.
Of the total RM201.7 billion in approved investments from the manufacturing, services and primary sectors last year, RM86.1 billion was contributed within the first six months...
Malaysia saw a slight jump in foreign and domestic investments in the second half of 2018, announced International Trade and Investment Minister Darell Leiking today.
Of the total RM201.7 billion in approved investments from the manufacturing, services and primary sectors last year, RM86.1 billion was contributed within the first six months.
Between July and December, the sectors recorded RM115.6 billion in investments, or 57.3 percent of the total approved investments.
Leiking predicted that the upward trend would continue under the Pakatan Harapan government.
“Malaysia is set to leverage on an improving trend of private investment, supported by positive sentiments arising from the new government’s business-friendly policies and clear economic direction,” he said.
The minister was speaking at the launch of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority’s (Mida) 2018 investment performance report in Kuala Lumpur.
Last year also saw a 48 percent surge in foreign direct investment (FDI) to RM80.5 billion, up from RM54.4 billion in 2017.
Like the year before, FDI was overtaken by domestic direct investment (DDI) which amounted to RM121.1 billion, a 17.1 percent decrease from 2017 (RM146.2 billion).
The top five contributors of FDI were China (RM19.7 billion), Indonesia (RM9 billion), the Netherlands (RM8.3 billion), Japan (RM4.1 billion) and the US (RM3.2 billion).
Leiking (photo) added that a total of 4,887 projects were recorded last year which created 128,700 jobs, both figures a drop from 2017.
Manufacturing sector the ‘champion’
By sectors, the services industry contributed to the bulk of investments (RM103.4 billion), followed by manufacturing (RM87.4 billion) and primary industries (RM10.9 billion).
Manufacturing, in particular, saw growth as a whole spurred by a sharp 169.3 percent spike in its FDI share to RM58 billion compared to in 2017 (RM21.6 billion).
Some 81 percent (RM71.2 billion) of the sector’s investments were recorded between May and Dec last year.
“The manufacturing sector emerged as the champion overall, recording a significant margin, a notable 37.2 percent higher than 2017,” Leiking said.
In terms of the states, Johor was the highest recipient of approved investments (RM34.19 billion) followed by Selangor (RM28.76 billion) and Sarawak (RM21.69 billion).
Leiking, accompanied on stage by his deputy Ong Kian Ming and Mida CEO Azman Mahmud, later took questions from attendees.
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