As the Malaysian economy recovers from the pandemic this year with a strong showing in trade performance and robust domestic demand, more leading companies have decided to set up their global services hub in Greater Kuala Lumpur (Greater KL). InvestKL has successfully attracted RM1.68 billion worth of investments in the first half of 2022, creating 1,919 high-skilled executive job opportunities.
Greater KL offers investors a robust digital and innovation ecosystem, access to a diverse talent pool ready for future industries, and supportive government policies. These attractive propositions have led to the establishment of six (6) well-known multinational corporations (MNCs) from the United States, United Kingdom, China, and Australia. These companies cover various industries such as food, technology, software development, and pharmaceutical.
These quality investments came after a record year in 2021 in which InvestKL, an agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), secured RM2.46 billion of investments through 13 global services hubs. The strong momentum is yet another testament that Malaysia’s capital city remains a top choice for investors despite the challenges brought by the pandemic.
InvestKL Chief Executive Officer, Muhammad Azmi Zulkifli said the stellar performance is an encouragement for the agency to continue securing more investments, taking advantage of new opportunities available from the free trade agreements Malaysia has become a part of.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) just came into force earlier this year, while Malaysia is aiming to ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2022.
“These major trade deals hold excellent promise as they will make Malaysia more attractive for companies seeking to diversify their supply chains and widen market access for goods and services as well as digital products,” Azmi said.
InvestKL has also made great strides in the Greater Kuala Lumpur Live Lab (GKL Live Lab) initiative launched last year. The GKL Live Lab, aimed at strengthening Greater KL as an innovation and ideation smart city, has signed up 2 companies, out of 3 targeted for this year. Under the initiative, foreign companies can bring their ideas to life while collaborating with local players to create high-value and future-ready jobs, as well as deepen the local ecosystem with sophisticated and complex activities. Since 2021, GKL Live Lab has secured key projects covering EduTech, Healthtech, Dronetech, Data Solutions and Marketingtech.
Moving forward, Azmi said Malaysia needs to nurture more professionals such as big data engineers, cybersecurity experts and accountants to meet growing investors’ demand. This will support the country’s objective in attracting high-value, high-technology and high-growth companies, in line with the National Investment Aspiration (NIA) aimed at balancing economic development with environmental sustainability.
In addition, as the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) agenda gained prominence among the global investment community, greater emphasis must also be given to further enhancing the readiness of the country’s ecosystem and infrastructure in embracing sustainable development.
“We must keep ourselves at the forefront of ESG while capturing emerging opportunities in the shift towards a greener planet. Renewable energy offers huge potential, and Malaysia needs to accelerate on this front to remain competitive,” Azmi said.
