Selangor continued to be a preferred investment choice for Malaysia, as state recorded an excellent achievement in investment and industrialisation sectors in 2020 by exceeding the RM12 billion investment target.
The report was announced by Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj who added that despite Covid-19 pandemic, 19,950 jobs were created due to the approved manufacturing projects in the state.
Among the districts that recorded highest investment value, Petaling district was the highest with RM5.934 billion, followed by the Kuala Langat (over RM5.785 billion) and Klang (over RM3.477 billion). These total investment value exceeded the RM12 billion target set by the State government.
For 2021, the target investment has been kept the same of RM12 billion based on the expectation of reduced investment activities due to the pandemic and the country’s ongoing economic recovery process.
On the achievement, the Selangor Ruler said the achievement was due to the state government’s policies that facilitate the business environment and the complete and modern infrastructures provided by the state.
In terms of projects, a total of 324 manufacturing projects were approved by the Malaysia Investment Development Authority (MIDA) in Selangor with a total investment of RM18.43 billion. Out of the total, some RM6.95 billion or 37.7 per cent were from local investments and the remaining RM11.48 billion or 62.3 per cent were from foreign investments. The top investors are from Japan followed by the Netherlands and China.
Even though Selangor is still being chosen as the top investment destination, the enforcement of the movement control order has undeniably affected the people’s source of income and jobs which has led to increased unemployment rate in the country. In 2020, the unemployment rate had risen to 4.9 per cent compared to 3.2 per cent in 2019.
After a slight growth recorded early this year, the unemployment rate has increased again to 4.8 per cent after some 40,600 workers lost their jobs in June,” His Royal Highness added.
