Malaysia’s total approved investments surpass RM177 bil in 2021

KUALA LUMPUR – One should be unperturbed if Malaysia is unable to beat its total approved investments garnered in 2021.

This is because the country is expected to post a stunning amount for its approved investments for last year.

Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) chief executive officer Datuk Arham Abdul Rahman said that the total, which will be announced on March 8, surpasses the performance of the past three years.

“Malaysia has displayed a strong resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges because the pandemic offered the country a unique opportunity,” he said.

Our resilience and effort in implementing various outreach and investment promotion programmes have paid off. 

“Within the first nine months of 2021, foreign direct investments contributed RM106.1 billion, accounting for nearly 60% of the total approved investments,” Arham said at an appreciation and networking session with the media recently.

He said that the remaining 40.3% or RM71.7 billion were channelled from domestic direct investments. He attributed this to existing and new aspiring local companies meeting the growing industrial needs of different multinational corporations.

Malaysia had approved RM164 billion in investments through 4,599 projects in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors in 2020, RM211.4 billion in 2019, and RM201.7 billion in 2018.

“As for 2022, it may be difficult to beat 2021,” he said.

“This is because Malaysia was able to attract a couple of high-investment projects last year, like Risen Energy Co Ltd’s solar project with an investment of RM42.2 billion.”

Eyeing a global digital hub

Intel Corp, one of the world’s largest chip manufacturers, has also agreed to invest more than US$7 billion (over RM30 billion) in Malaysia to expand its advanced manufacturing capabilities.

The United States firm planned to build a new chip packaging and testing factory in the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone, Penang, to shore up its supporting activities as well as its global service centre. This comes amid the shortage of semiconductors, which are needed in a wide array of electronic items from smartphones to automobiles.

In the pipeline this year, Arham said, are 477 projects with proposed investments of RM33.3 billion in the manufacturing and services sectors within Mida’s purview.

Among them are those related to aerospace, electric vehicles, machinery and equipment, integrated circuit design, advanced electronics, advanced materials, fine chemicals, renewable energy such as solar photovoltaic cells, optics and photonics, display technology, petrochemical, pharmaceutical,  medical devices, and food security.

“We are looking to leverage the recovery momentum experienced in 2021 to spur Malaysia’s investment growth in 2022,” he said.

Mida is also aiming to profile Malaysia as a regional digital hub with a holistic business ecosystem that converts investments into sustainable economic pillars. We want to mitigate environmental impact, expedite socio-economic developments, extend domestic linkages, promote new growth clusters, and offer inclusivity.”

Arham noted that Mida will be focusing on pursuing more high-quality, capital-intensive projects, as well as those that support the sustainable development agenda of the nation.

Looking towards 2022, he said Mida encourages companies to accelerate the adoption of digitalisation, and intensify research and development activities to discover new technologies.

“We stress on accelerating the adoption and adaptation of advanced factory automation and digitisation levels to enable the transition of brick-and-mortar hubs into smart factories to enhance flexibility, and optimise productivity and growth remotely.

“Mida strives to ensure that Malaysia remains welcoming of investors by rolling out measures to ease the challenges of operating businesses in the country while encouraging and facilitating the adoption of technology, innovation and research by companies," he said.

To reflect this, he said, Mida has lined up targeted trade and investment missions, as well as specific project missions, to capture investments in high technology, innovation and research-driven industries that will complement the Malaysian industrial ecosystem. – The Vibes, January 15, 2022