PETALING JAYA: Malaysia registered a stellar approved investment growth of 51.5% year-on-year to RM177.8bil, involving 3,037 projects, in the period of January-September 2021.

       Senior Minister-cum-International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said the approved investment, comprising the manufacturing, services and primary sectors, is expected to generate 79,899 jobs in the country.

       “The country’s stellar performance is indeed a testament to investors’ strong confidence in Malaysia as a preferred investment hub, particularly our conducive business ecosystem in providing high-skilled talent and having strong readiness in advanced technology.

       “This, in turn, further bolsters our role as a prominent site in global companies’ manufacturing networks, enhancing Malaysia’s position as a pioneering, renowned investment destination in the region,” he said in a statement issued by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) yesterday.

       Mohamed Azmin said the manufacturing sector accounted for 58.4% (RM103.9bil) of total investments, followed by the services sector at 32.5% (RM57.8bil) and the primary sector at 9.1% (RM16.1bil).

       Foreign direct investment (FDI) accounted for nearly 60% of the approved investment at RM106.1bil, with Singapore, China, Austria, Japan and the Netherlands being the top-five FDI countries, accounting for nearly 85.3% or RM90.6bil of the total numbers.

       While FDI leads the approved investment in the manufacturing sector, investments by local companies dominated in the services and primary sectors.

       During the nine-month period, domestic direct investment (DDI) totalled RM71.7bil or 40.3% of the total approved investment.

       Kedah, Sarawak, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Pahang contributed RM134.8bil or 75.8% to the total approved investment in various sectors, he said.

       He said a total of 522 manufacturing projects worth RM103.9bil were approved in the period of January-September 2021 – a 60% jump compared to RM64.8bil in the period of January-September 2020.

       FDI drove the strong performance of the manufacturing sector during the period, soaring 133.5% compared to the same period in 2020, accounting for 88.3% or RM91.7bil of the approved investment within the sector.

       “The remaining RM12.2bil (11.7%) of the approved investment in the manufacturing sector was from domestic sources,” he noted.

       About 96.8% of the total approved investment for the sector comprised of electrical and electronics (RM64.3bil), fabricated metal products (RM14.0bil), rubber products (RM5.4bil), basic metal products (RM5.2bil), food manufacturing (RM4.6bil), chemicals and chemical products (RM4.1bil), scientific and measuring equipment (RM2.1bil), and transport equipment (RM980.8mil).

       Mohamed Azmin emphasised that Malaysia was focusing on pursuing more high-quality, capital-intensive projects and those that supported the sustainable development agenda of the nation.