The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) has recently revealed that the country’s approved investment for 2022 amounted to MYR 264.6 billion (USD 60 billion) the second-largest number ever recorded. It is projected that these investments will generate about 140,370 new employment opportunities.
The greatest proportion of the total approved investments in Malaysia went to the services industry in 2022, followed by the manufacturing and primary sectors. The services sector received about MYR 154 billion (USD 34.93 billion), or 58.2% of the allowed investments. In the meantime, the manufacturing sector received MYR 84.3 billion (USD 19 billion), or 31.9% of the allowed investments, and the primary industry received MYR 26.3 billion (USD 5.9 billion), or 9.9%. Foreign direct investment (FDI) made up 61.7% of Malaysia’s total investments, totaling MYR 163.3 billion (USD 37 billion), while domestic direct investment (DDI) accounted for 38.3%, amounting to MYR 101.3 billion (USD 22.98 billion). After China, the top five foreign investors in Malaysia are the United States, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Japan. Two of the largest one-off investments that took place in 2021 were from Intel and China’s Risen Energy Co Ltd.
At the state-level, Johor (MYR 70.6 billion) (USD 16 billion), Selangor (MYR 60 billion) (USD 13.61 billion), Sarawak (MYR 28.2 billion) (USD 6.3 billion), Kuala Lumpur (MYR 25 billion) (USD 5.6 billion), and Penang (MYR 16.3 billion) (USD 3.7 billion) witnessed the most significant flows of investment. Malaysia has implemented New Investment Policy reforms which aim at resetting the nation’s economy by enhancing security, promoting well-being and inclusivity, and advancing sustainability. This includes a special focus on becoming as ASEAN’s digital hub, driven by several key factors such as highly developed information and communications technology infrastructure, strong intellectual property protection framework and talent pool.
(Sources: Malaysian Investment Development Authority; The Edge Markets)
