Malaysia on good track to achieve its economic projection targets — Ismail Sabri
24 Feb 2022
Malaysia’s economic development and total foreign direct investment in 2021 shows that the country is on good track to keep its projection to achieve its economic targets, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri said.
Based on reports published by the Department of Statistics Malaysia and Bank Negara Malaysia, the country’s economy will grow 3.1 per cent in 2021 against a contraction of 5.6 per cent in 2020.
“Even though (COVID-19), as I mentioned earlier, has had a big impact on the economy, we can still expand.”
In fact, he said total foreign direct investment (FDI) also increased to more than RM50 billion in 2021 compared with RM14.6 billion in 2020.
“This positive indicator gives the impression that the country is heading towards economic recovery and achieve the gross domestic product (GDP) projection of 5.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent for 2022 in line with the projections made by the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank,” he said at the Keluarga Malaysia dinner in Cambodia on Wednesday.
This is Ismail Sabri’s first official visit to Cambodia since he was sworn in as the ninth Prime Minister on Aug 21 last year.
“So, in terms of the economy, we aim to continue to grow and the government will continue to take various actions to ensure that our economy continues to grow.”
Among others, in an effort to revive the country’s economy and help the people affected, the government has provided business financing assistance through the Semarak Niaga programme worth RM40 billion recently.
“This programme is specifically devised to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in reviving their businesses.”
Ismail Sabri said the programme includes direct loans, financing guarantees and equity injections for the benefit of every group of entrepreneurs.
Besides, under Jamin Kerja campaign, the government provides 600,000 job opportunities to reduce the unemployment rate and protect the wellbeing of the people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, he said.
All these initiatives are expected to have an impact by the end of this year, the Prime Minister said.
The Potential of the Halal Industry In Cambodia
For Malaysian businessmen in Cambodia, Ismail Sabri encouraged them to continue to seize the opportunities to trade with Cambodia and increase bilateral trade volumes.
“I would like to encourage more Malaysian businessmen and investors to be more active here, especially in the halal industry. Malaysia should take the opportunity to expand the halal industry business in Cambodia,” he said, adding that Camdbodia is home to about 800,000 Muslims.
“This is a potential and halal products are not only for Muslims, but also non-Muslims who also accept them as they are based on cleanliness.”
There are about 5,000 Malaysians residing in Cambodia, of whom about 2,000 are based in the capital Phnom Penh and have been involved in various businesses since 1994.
Among the Malaysian companies operating here are Maybank, CIMB Bank, Public Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Smart Axiata, Muhibbah Engineering, Sunway International, Nagaworld, and Leader.
Cambodia-Malaysia’s total trade surpassed US$500 million (US$1=RM4.18) in 2021, an increase of 13.14 per cent from the previous year. According to reports, Cambodian exports to Malaysia amounted to US$101 million in 2021, up 2.62 per cent from US$98 million in 2020, while imports worth US$399 million, an increase of 16.16 per cent year-on-year from the previous year.
Source: Bernama
