Malaysia manages to attract RM81.9 bln FDI this year - Azmin

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has managed to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) worth RM81.9 billion from 240 companies this year.

According to Senior Minister cum Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, all the investments are of high quality, including investments in the technology, innovation, green technology, electric vehicles and financial technology sectors.

He said the high-quality investment policy was also practised during the trade and investment missions in South Korea and Japan in early April, attracting almost RM7 billion in investments.

"When I was in Seoul and held further discussions with the top management of SK Nexilis, they agreed to double their investment in Sabah from RM2.3 billion to RM4.24 billion," he told Buletin TV3 today.

Azmin said Japanese conglomerates had shown similar investment commitments, including electronic components supplier Taiyo Yu-den, which intends to invest RM3.75 billion to expand its operations in Sarawak.

Hence, he said, the potential investments in Sabah and Sarawak prove that the government was not solely focusing on the Klang Valley or Peninsular Malaysia.

He said Malaysia was still a major investment destination for foreign investors despite the perception that multinational companies were leaving the country.

"With the facts that I have given, this is only a small part of what has been agreed, proving that Malaysia is still a major investment destination," he said.

Azmin also said that RM44 billion worth of foreign investments are currently at various stages of evaluation for the future.

He is scheduled to leave for Saudi Arabia next week for his next trade and investment mission.

Malaysia recorded a total of RM164 billion of investments approved through 4,599 projects in the manufacturing, services and key sectors in 2020

-- BERNAMA