KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia attracted RM88.4 billion in investments in the first half of 2016, says the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), adding that they are poised to generate over 76,000 jobs.

The approved direct investments in the services, manufacturing and primary sectors were in 2,499 projects.

In terms of foreign direct investments, RM28.2 billion was approved during the period.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said there was continued interest by foreign investors despite the current economic scenario.

“Our approved foreign investments for the first half have already reached 78.2 per cent of the total foreign investments approved for the whole of last year,” he said in a statement

Malaysia attracted RM88.4 billion in investments in the first half of 2016, says the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), adding that they are poised to generate over 76,000 jobs. The approved direct investments in the services, manufacturing and primary sectors were in 2,499 projects.

In the first six months of 2015, investments totalled RM125.9 billion, mainly for two big petrochemical projects approved in the manufacturing sector during the same period last year, namely the Pengerang project in Johor and LNG9 project in Sarawak.

“With our strong fundamentals, Malaysia remains on a steady economic growth path. We continue to attract foreign direct investments (FDI) in quality projects in new growth areas and emerging technologies.

“With the strong presence of FDI in the country, we trust that our supply chain ecosystem and related services industry will continue to grow. To complement FDI, MITI and MIDA will continue to assist Malaysian companies to strengthen their competencies and bolster their competitive edge.”

The services sector continued to account for the largest share of total investments, contributing 76.3 per cent or RM67.5 billion, followed by the manufacturing sector with investments of RM19.6 billion or 22.2 per cent, while the primary sector contributed the remaining approved investments of RM1.3 billion (1.5 per cent).

As at August 2016, MIDA has 264 projects in the pipeline with investments worth RM30.8 billion for the manufacturing and services sectors.

These projects are mainly in chemical and chemical products, machinery and metal, transportation technology, global establishments and hospitality.

“These projects would potentially provide over 20,000 more jobs for Malaysians. We expect to process these investment proposals by the end of this year.”

By News Straits Times, Malaysia