Low FDI last year not a high concern due to increased domestic investment, says Anwar

Low FDI last year not a high concern due to increased domestic investment, says Anwar

02 Jul 2024

The decline in foreign direct investment (FDI) recorded last year was not a concern as the country’s overall investment had recorded an increase, the Dewan Rakyat heard today.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the increase in the country’s overall investment was supported by a strong inflows of domestic investment.

“As we know, the FDI did see a decline in 2023. However, the overall investment was the highest due to a sudden increase in the (country’s) domestic investment.

“Therefore, we (the government) are not overly concerned, especially considering that foreign investment in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 has increased.

“I do not have the specific figures with me at the moment but this has been announced by the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) where the figures for 2024 are significantly higher than what was projected previously, with details on companies and investment amounts,” he said during prime minister’s question time in Dewan Rakyat, today.

Anwar said this in response to a supplementary question by Datuk Idris Ahmad (PN-Bagan Serai) who enquired about the government’s plan to asses the low FDI and whether it will affect the investment prospects of the Kerian Integrated Green Industrial Park (KIGIP) project.

Malaysia saw a 13 per cent jump in approved investments to RM83.7 billion in the first quarter this year, compared with the same period the previous year.

Of the total approved investments, RM47.5 billion, or 56.8 per cent, fall under the jurisdiction of Miti and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida), covering 500 projects with 18,517 new job opportunities.

The approved investment comprises manufacturing (51.3 per cent or RM43 billion), services (47 per cent or RM39.3 billion), and primary (1.7 per cent or RM1.4 billion) sectors.

Foreign investments contributed 56.2 per cent or RM47 billion, while domestic investments contributed 43.8 per cent or RM36.7 billion.

At the same time, Malaysia recorded strong growth in gross domestic product (GDP) with 4.2 per cent in Q1 this year due to sustained domestic demand and better export performance, where the country outperformed countries such as Singapore (2.7 per cent), Thailand (1.5 per cent) and the United Kingdom (0.2 per cent).

Source: NST