Malaysia’s approved investments in 2023 recorded the highest in history with an investment value of RM329.5 billion for the manufacturing, service and main sectors, which is an increase of 23% compared to 2022, said Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) Liew Chin Tong during the Dewan Negara sitting today (Apr 1).
The amount involves 5,101 projects where foreign investments contributed as much as RM188.4 billion or 57.2% , an increase of 15.3% compared to 2022 while domestic investments recorded a value of RM141.1 billion or representing 42.8%, an increase of 35.1% compared to the previous year, Liew said in reply to a question raised by Datuk Lim Pay Hen on how many investments have been successfully signed by the Government throughout last year as well as how many investments have been approved, realised and cancelled.
The service sector recorded the highest investment by contributing more than half (51.1%) of the total approved investment of RM168.4 billion, followed by the manufacturing sector of RM152 billion (46.1%) and the primary sector of RM9.1 billion (2.8%).
A total of 127,332 new job opportunities will be created from these three sectors are, said Liew, adding MITI would also like to clarify that the approved investment refers to investment planning for the capital expenditure of a project in the long-term including the cost of purchasing land, factories, machines, machinery and others.
“Generally, an approved project takes between 18 and 24 months to be implemented or realised, depending on the scale and complexity of the projects concerned. Accordingly, out of a total of RM152 billion investment projects in the manufacturing sector approved in 2023, as many as 445 projects (50.4 percent) with a total investment of RM46.1 billion have been realised and creating a total of 29,693 jobs.”
Liew said this is an encouraging achievement, considering that the projects have been able to be implemented in less than the usual period, which usually takes between 18 to 24 months.
Regarding cancelled investments in 2023, only one manufacturing project was cancelled with a total investment of RM19.2 million, while nine (9) projects were postponed with a total investment of RM455 million.
MITI and MIDA will continue to be proactive in introducing policy reforms to further increase investor confidence and strengthen Malaysia’s position as a preferred investment destination.
All the efforts and collaborations that have been implemented throughout 2023, including through the “Whole-of-Government” and “Whole-of-Nation” approaches, will always be improved according to the needs and feedback from all stakeholders and interested parties, especially through engagement sessions that are carried out from time to time, Liew added.
