Malaysia secures 49 bln USD worth of investments

Malaysia secures 49 billion USD worth of investments (Source: themalaysianreserve.com)

Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia’s trade performance continues to improve, driven by different investments including domestic direct investments (DDI) and foreign direct investments (FDI), said the country's Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI).

Speaking with the press after delivering a speech at the Australian Network Leaders’ Summit 2023 on July 2, MITI minister Zafrul Abdul Aziz said that the good performance benefited not only from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), but also from various types of agreement, namely multilateral agreement, free trade agreement (FTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP).

A total of 18 FTAs have been signed so far, showing that trade continues to increase and these trade agreements help local exporters access the international market.

The minister noted that in the first half of 2023, the country secured committed investments from four countries worth 230 billion RM (49 billion USD).

The four countries are Singapore (13 billion RM), the Republic of Korea (24 billion RM), China (170 RM), and Japan (23 RM).

He affirmed that the result is a testament to the confidence foreign investors have in Malaysia, which helps policymakers unlock numerous opportunities for corporates, small and medium enterprises and the locals across various sectors.

Malaysia’s approved investments in the first quarter of this year saw a remarkable 60% rise year on year to 71.4 billion RM. These figures are represented by over 1,200 projects and are set to create 24,000 new job opportunities.

The minister concluded that the urgent issue that the government needs to address at the moment is the acceleration of business approvals required by domestic and international investors.

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