Malaysia records RM306.5 bln investments in 2021, highest since 2006

Senior Minister cum Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said the country remained an attractive investment destination for global and regional business expansions.

He noted that the total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Domestic Direct Investment (DDI) numbers exceeded expectations in 2021, increasing by 83.1 per cent compared to 2020.

"Our robust business ecosystem has enabled us to secure strategic investments and forge new trade relationships, placing us on a positive trajectory to propel our economy to greater heights, as well as expedite efforts towards inclusive socio-economic growth.

"The easing of pandemic containment measures, coupled with the high vaccination rates among diverse industries and professionals has allowed for the resumption of economic activities," he said at the Malaysian Investment Development Authority's (MIDA) Annual Media Conference (AMC) 2022 here, today.

According to the minister, additional measures were put in place to ensure that the business ecosystem remains responsive to global trends with policies and initiatives for business facilitation, talent upskilling and reskilling, digitalisation and automation.

"In a nutshell, these measures have successfully placed our economy on a firm and resilient footing towards the path of vibrant growth and sustainable recovery," he added.

The senior minister also said that FDIs accounted for nearly 68.1 per cent of approved investments at RM208.6 billion in 2021 -- an increase of 224.9 per cent from RM64.2 billion recorded in 2020 -- while DDI stood at RM97.9 billion, making up 31.9 per cent of the total investment value.

He said the manufacturing sector led the way in total investments approved in 2021 at RM195.1 billion, followed by the services sector (RM94.1 billion) and the primary sector (RM17.3 billion).

"The Netherlands (RM78 billion), Singapore (RM47.3 billion), China (RM31.3 billion), Austria (RM18.9 billion) and Japan (RM9.9 billion) accounted for 88.9 per cent of total FDIs approved in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors.

"Penang recorded the highest investments approved last year at RM83.5 billion, followed by Kedah (RM68.3 billion), Kuala Lumpur (RM37.7 billion), Selangor (RM28.8 billion) and Sarawak (RM25.7 billion) -- these five states contributed 79.6 per cent of the total approved investments for 2021," he said.

Mohamed Azmin said Malaysia's manufacturing sector secured projects worth RM195.1 billion for 2021, a 113.7 per cent jump compared to the RM91.3 billion registered in 2020, subsequently creating 74,575 jobs.

He said Malaysia had secured 75 capital-intensive projects worth RM100 million and above, adding that the projects would spur the growth of new advanced manufacturing technologies and produce a highly-skilled workforce.

In 2021, he said Malaysia secured 3,803 projects in the services sector worth RM94.1 billion in approved investments, with DDIs rising to RM69.2 billion in 2021 from RM63.5 billion in 2020; underscoring the inherent strength of Malaysia's companies that could be leveraged further for the export of services.

"The top five contributors of approved investments in this sector were real estate (RM28.8 billion), global establishments (RM19.7 billion), financial services (RM12.0 billion), utilities (RM9.6 billion) and information and communications (RM8.2 billion)," added Mohamed Azmin.