FMM: MIDA’s report is music to our ears
12 Nov 2020
Malaysia is on track to become a high-income nation by continuing to attract solid investments; both domestic and foreign, said the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM).
“Some of the strategies implemented towards achieving this are moving towards more high technology and high valued-added manufacturing activities as outlined in the 11th Malaysia Plan.
“The new investments into Malaysia are reflective of these strategies and the manufacturing sector’s transitioning towards more high-value, diverse and complex products.
“This initiatives will be driven by key sectors such as chemicals, electrical & electronics, machinery & equipment and others that have the ability to diversify to more complex and high value products,” its president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai told FocusM.
Three days ago, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) said that it has approved 740 manufacturing projects in the first nine months of this year despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A total of 740 projects worth RM65.3 bil was approved so far, compared to the 669 projects worth RM56 bil in the same period last year, an increase of 16.6%,” it was reported saying.
The investment authority also said the approved projects would create 51,172 jobs for the nation, including for 1,040 electrical and electronic engineers, 963 mechanical engineers and 331 chemical engineers.
Touching on MIDA’s report, Soh said the investment speaks volumes of Malaysia’s attractiveness as a manufacturing hub for high technology and high valued-added activities.
“Being a convenient location in the region, having good infrastructure, intellectual property protection and skilled workers are also critical elements to support high technology and high value-added activities.
“Plus, the nine month investment figures also show that domestic direct investment (DDI) have increased with the manufacturing sector seeing a 45.5% leap to RM25.9 bil,” he said.
Soh added many of the initiatives introduced in the economic stimulus packages announced this year were also geared towards facilitating DDI.
On that note, the FMM leader said it was important for Malaysia to continue to attract DDI and foreign direct investments (FDI) as it would lead the nation to fast track its economic recovery.
He also said the manufacturing sector was hit hard by the pandemic in an unprecedented scale, causing closures, production halt and disruption to global manufacturing and supply networks.
“The continued flow of investments show that investors still look favourably at Malaysia as an important investment hub for their business operations, supported by MIDA’s active investment promotion to capture a share of FDIs stemming from the US-China supply chain reconfiguration,” remarked Soh.
Source: Focus Malaysia Posted on : 12 November 2020
