Malaysia’s Stellar Economic Performance – Jan to Sept 2021

Malaysia displayed a stellar investment performance for the period of January to September (Q3) 2021 with a total of RM177.8 billion investments approved in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors, involving 3,037 projects. This represents an outstanding 51.5 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. While global challenges remain, the significant pickup signals that the business community is emerging from the pandemic to create economic recovery and growth. FDI increased significantly by 135.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2020.

Foreign direct investments (FDI) accounted for nearly 60 per cent of approved investments, valued at RM106.1 billion; while domestic direct investments (DDI) totalled RM71.7 billion. Together, these approved investments are expected to generate 79,899 job opportunities in the country.

Manufacturing Sector

Approved investments in the manufacturing sector increased by more than 60 per cent from the same period last year, with a total of 522 manufacturing projects worth RM103.9 billion approved in the period of January to September 2021.

FDI drove the strong performance of the manufacturing sector during the period soaring by 133.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2020, accounting for 88.3 per cent or RM91.7 billion of the approved investments within the sector.

Notable projects approved during Q3 include AT&S, an Austrian company and global leader of high-end printed circuit boards (PCB) and integrated circuit (IC) substrates with an investment of RM8.5 billion in Kulim, Kedah for its manufacturing operation and R&D activities.

Nexperia Malaysia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nexperia BV (The Netherlands) will also be expanding its operations in Negeri Sembilan by investing in building, equipment and automation. In addition, Japan-based Taiyo Yuden announced an investment of RM680 million for the expansion of its multilayer ceramic capacitors production in Kuching, Sarawak to meet the growing demands of their clients in ASEAN.

Services Sector

The first nine months of 2021 saw the approval of 2,473 services projects with investments of RM57.8 billion. These projects are expected to create 19,731 jobs once implemented. Domestic investments dominated those approved within the sector, making up RM46.9 billion or 81.1 per cent, while the remainder RM10.9 billion are from foreign sources.

Notably, the approved investments for global establishments saw a significant jump from the corresponding period last year with RM9.2 billion. A total of 83 projects proposing to make Malaysia their regional or global operations hubs were approved, which are expected to create new job opportunities for 3,760 knowledge-based or highly technical skilled workers.

Primary Sector

The primary sector contributed RM16.1 billion or 9.1 per cent to the total approved investments from January to September 2021, a significant 827 per cent jump from the corresponding period last year.

The mining subsector dominated with approved investments of RM16.0 billion, followed by plantation and commodities with RM84.8 million and agriculture at RM11.5 million. These investments are expected to create 304 job opportunities in the country.

Source: MIDA e-Newsletter December 2021