MALAYSIA remains on course to achieve its economic growth target for 2025, according to Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Tengku Zafrul said the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) would focus on meeting its trade growth target of 5 per cent this year.
“The ministry will prioritise efforts to support Malaysia’s external sector and ensure we are on track to meet our trade targets,” he said soon after unveiling MITI’s Second Quarter 2025 Performance Report Card, with further details on trade, investment flows and industrial development to be released during the session.
During the presentation, Tengku Zafrul explained that Malaysia has leapt 11 places to 23rd in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2025 — its highest position in five years — following a raft of structural reforms, increased regulatory efficiency and targeted investment in digital and green sectors.
Describing the improvement as a “testament to our reform agenda”, MITI credited a whole-of-government approach and stronger industry collaboration for the upward momentum.
Key among the reforms was the expansion of Good Regulatory Practices (GRP), with 807 regulatory reform initiatives registered by mid-2025, far surpassing MITI’s full-year target of 500.
These have already delivered RM374 million in confirmed savings and are projected to reach RM438 million.
Malaysia also reaffirmed its commitment to global trade by expanding its free trade agreement (FTA) network.
A total of 18 FTAs have been signed since 1993 — nine regional and nine bilateral — including the latest, the Malaysia-EFTA Economic Partnership Agreement (MEEPA), concluded on 23 June 2025. Bilateral trade with EFTA currently stands at RM14.4 billion.
Export development efforts have also yielded returns, with RM15 million disbursed under the Market Development Grant (MDG) scheme in the first half of 2025. Grant recipients reported RM2.88 billion in export sales during the period.
In digital investment, Malaysia recorded RM310.7 billion in approved projects between 2021 and Q1 2025 — the majority in data centres, which offer an estimated 6.6-times multiplier effect. These investments are expected to create over 92,000 jobs.
Complementing this, trade and investment missions conducted across the United Kingdom, United States, Russia and ASEAN have attracted RM25.6 billion in potential investment and RM30.08 billion in potential exports.
The country’s green transition is also gathering pace.
As of Q1 2025, RM22.9 billion worth of green investments have been approved under the Green Investment Strategy, spanning 1,492 projects and supporting nearly 9,200 jobs. Key sectors include renewable energy, circular economy, green mobility and hydrogen.
Manufacturing activity remains solid, with 86.4% of projects approved between 2021 and Q1 2025 now operational. In tandem, the Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre resolved 28,146 of 28,166 investment-related cases by May 2025 — a resolution rate of 99.9%.
Efforts to build supply chain resilience have also intensified, particularly in critical industries such as electronics, pharmaceuticals and food.
A digital Supply Chain Intelligent Management System (SCIMS) is scheduled for launch in December 2025 to strengthen monitoring and coordination.
Local initiatives, such as Export Day Perak 2025, are helping to expand SME participation in global markets. The event generated RM234.7 million in sales for nine participating exporters, with strong interest from buyers in the US, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
With reforms now translating into tangible results, Malaysia is positioning itself as a resilient, forward-looking economy anchored in competitiveness, sustainability and digital transformation. - July 15, 2025
