SHAH ALAM: Selangor has set a lower foreign direct investment (FDI) target of between RM12bil and RM13bil this year compared to the RM17bil-RM18bil of the past three years due to the global impact of Covid-19.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari (pic) said until April this year, the state recorded an FDI value of about RM9bil despite the more challenging economic situation now than that of the previous year.
“Our target of RM12bil to RM13bil is not too ambitious due to the increasing Covid-19 cases again this year,” he told Bernama.
“Our operations are only moving at the rate of 20% to 30% and there are not many things we can do to expand the target.”
However, Amirudin said following the implementation of Operation Surge Capacity to ensure that the adult population in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor receive at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by Aug 1, he expected the state’s economic landscape to gradually recover.
“We don’t want to be too ambitious but I think by the end of August or the beginning of September, the economic landscape will improve in Selangor,” he said.
In the meantime, he said the Selangor Advance initiative under the Kita Selangor 2.0 Package has so far benefited more than 300 companies involving 50,000 employees.
Meanwhile, in Kuala Lumpur, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised its economic growth forecast for developing Asia this year to 7.2% against 7.3% projected in April 2021, as renewed Covid-19 outbreaks decelerate the recovery in some economies in the region.
Chief economist Yasuyuki Sawada said the growth outlook for 2022, however, had been upgraded to 5.4% from 5.3% set earlier.
“Asia and the Pacific’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic continues, although the path remains precarious amid renewed outbreaks, new virus variants, and an uneven vaccine rollout.
“On top of containment and vaccination measures, phased and strategic rejuvenation of economic activities – trade, manufacturing, and tourism – will be key to ensuring that the recovery is green, inclusive and resilient,” he said in ADB’s economic publication, Asian Development Outlook 2021.