Chinese investment in Malaysia will be 3 pct to 5 pct higher in 2023: Juwai IQI

11 Jul 2023

Chinese corporate investment, or foreign direct investment (FDI), in Malaysia is expected to be at least three per cent to five per cent higher in 2023 than in 2022, said real estate technology group Juwai IQI.

Co-founder and group managing director Daniel Ho said China had invested almost twice as much in Malaysia’s economy in 2022 as the second largest investor, the United States.

“Approvals for inbound investments from all countries reached RM264 billion in 2022. China is by far the top investor, accounting for RM55.4 billion.

“Most of the approved investment is in the categories of information and communication, mining, transport equipment, and chemicals,” he said in a statement today.

Ho said Chinese businesses choose to invest in Malaysia because of the stable political and regulatory environment, pro-growth government, strategic location, and modern infrastructure.

“Malaysia is a destination for companies that seek new manufacturing bases outside of mainland China.

“This will help the country increase its role in the global supply chain and should lead to further investments in the future by related companies that want to locate near existing facilities in the same industry,” he added.

However, Ho said the actual final number would depend on planned investments being approved, so the number for the year may be higher or lower without affecting the fact that the long-term trend was upwards.

He said that cross-border investment in Malaysia has been strong since the pandemic, worth the equivalent of 3.7 per cent of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022.

“That’s significantly higher than the 10-year and pre-Covid-19 averages, which were 3.2 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively,” he added.

Source: Bernama