KUALA LUMPUR – The government approved foreign direct investments (FDI) worth RM392.9 billion in the manufacturing and services sectors under the supervision of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) from 2018 to 2021.
Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong said of the total approved FDIs, RM300.5 billion, or 76.5%, had been successfully realised.
“The breakdowns of the realised FDI between 2018 and 2021 are 57.6% for 2018, 75.6% (2019), 62.2% (2020), and 87% (2021),” he told the Dewan Rakyat in response to a question from Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani (Titiwangsa-BN) on the amount of FDI realised each year compared with the amount of investment approved by Mida between 2018 and 2022 here today.
He said the official data of FDI approved for 2022 will only be finalised at the end of next month.
“Typically, project implementation takes one to two years to be realised, depending on the scale of the project and current economic conditions,” he said.
Liew said the government, through the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) and Mida, is always committed to mobilising efforts to continue encouraging domestic and foreign investment into the country.
He said to ensure that the positive impact of FDI entry is immediately translated into economic activity, Mida has implemented various proactive strategies to realise investment projects by establishing the Project Acceleration and Coordination Unit (Pacu).
The deputy minister said Pacu provides holistic facilitation to investors by speeding up and simplifying the approval process so that investment projects are implemented according to the set timeframe.
He said Mida has also introduced the InvestMalaysia portal, which is an online application platform to optimise investment facilitation, such as the approval of manufacturer licenses for non-sensitive industries within two working days, and monitor the progress of the implementation of approved projects through surveys conducted twice a year in June and December.
“The inflow of high-quality FDI is essential to stimulate economic growth and bring positive spillover effects to the country and people through the generation of high-skilled employment opportunities for local people and business opportunities,” he added. – Bernama, February 14, 2023
