KUALA LUMPUR – The cabinet has approved the National Investment Aspirations (NIA), a forward-looking growth framework that will outline the basis for Malaysia’s investment policy reforms.
In a statement today, Senior Minister-cum-International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said the NIA will be central in revitalising Malaysia’s investment climate, attracting high-quality investments into the country and creating high-income jobs, particularly post-Covid-19.
“Moving forward, Malaysia must adopt a comprehensive approach to reinvigorating the investment ecosystem and respond adequately to emerging megatrends, as well as the evolving needs of our investors.
“Malaysia needs to rise to this challenge by continuously enhancing its unique value propositions, which span a wide array of elements such as incentives, facilitation, talent, infrastructure, as well as legal, regulatory, procedural and institutional mechanisms,” he said.
Azmin said NIA at its core will focus on coherence and cohesiveness, with these aspirations being reflected across all national policy documents and initiatives related to investment, including the Fourth Industrial Masterplan and 12th Malaysia Plan.
He said the five core parameters framing the NIA will be integral to enhance the nation’s competitiveness and ensure that Malaysia remains a preferred investment destination.
“These aspirations would bear the foundation for Malaysia to become a regional investment hub, which will increase economic diversity and complexity through the development of sophisticated products and services, with a high (volume of) local research and development (R&D) as well as innovation.
“It would also create high-skill jobs to provide better income for the rakyat; expand and integrate domestic linkages into regional and global supply chains by improving their resiliency; and develop new and existing clusters focusing on high productivity sectors, including local products and services, while improving inclusivity to contribute towards the socio-economic developmental agenda,” he said.
Attracting quality investments
In order to enable further diversification and ventures into more complex industries, Azmin said emphasis should also be accorded towards fostering a robust and dynamic tax and incentives regime, building a talent pool in close collaboration with relevant industries, improving licensing and regulatory frameworks, and augmenting facilitation elements such as customs procedures.
The senior minister also said NIA recognises the significant role of investment promotion strategies in attracting quality investments.
In this context, the NIA will guide policy and non-policy prescriptions that place a specific emphasis on more targeted, relevant and effective investment promotion and facilitation strategies, he said.
“This is pivotal to ensure investments in the identified priority sectors are able to flow into the country and lead to positive economic spillover effects,” said Azmin.
In addition, he said NIA will focus on inclusivity and sustainability that are compatible with environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals, as new investments that are anchored upon these elements will propel growth in technologically sophisticated sectors, as well as strengthen forward and backward linkages.
“In the long term, NIA encourages sustained flow of quality investments in new and possibly complex growth areas, fosters innovation and sophistication, creates greater job opportunities and improves income prospects.
“It will also further build investor and business confidence in Malaysia, as we continue to remain competitive and serve as the epicentre of economic and business activities in the region,” he added. – Bernama, April 21, 2021
