MIDA has nearly RM70b worth of potential investments being actively evaluated

MIDA has nearly RM70b worth of potential investments being actively evaluated

02 Mar 2021

KUALA LUMPUR (March 2): The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) said it had RM65.9 billion worth of potential investments being actively evaluated as at December 2020.

Once approved, these projects are expected to be implemented in 2021 to 2022, it said in a statement today.

MIDA has also identified 240 high-profile foreign investment projects, which include Fortune 500 companies in the manufacturing and services sectors, with a combined potential investment value of RM81.9 billion.

“These include ongoing negotiations with companies from various sectors, such as automotive, chemical and advanced electronics, to make Malaysia their high-value manufacturing, services and global supply chain hub,” it noted. 

MIDA is the government’s principal investment promotion and development agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) to oversee and drive investments into the manufacturing and services sectors of Malaysia.

Senior Minister and Minister of MITI Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said the government, through MIDA, continued to be at the forefront to entice more high-value investments in the areas of technology and innovation to position the country as an alternative supply chain hub in Asia.

“Investors will undeniably derive value by tapping on Malaysia’s well-established local supporting industry network and talented workforce to undertake high-tech product manufacturing and high value-added services to serve their clients in the region in the present and the future,” he said.

The minister said Malaysia continued to be a competitive investment destination despite the current uncertainties, proven by its rankings in the global economic scene.

The DHL Global Connectedness Index (GCI) 2020 positioned Malaysia in the second place among the Asia-Pacific countries and 16th out of 169 countries for trade connectivity, he said.

Furthermore, a joint study by KPMG and The Manufacturing Institute in the US entitled “Cost of Manufacturing Operations around the Globe” also ranked Malaysia fourth among 17 economies in an assessment comparing the economy’s competitiveness as a manufacturing hub.

This positioned Malaysia ahead of countries in Asia such as China, Japan, Vietnam and India.

Other than that, Malaysia was ranked 12th in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 and 27th in the IMD World Competitiveness 2020, according to Azmin.

Despite the ongoing international border closures and strict governmental standard operating procedures (SOPs) due to the Covid-19 pandemic, MIDA continued to be responsive in providing advice and support to existing and potential investors through its established footprint of 20 overseas and 12 regional offices as it had been at the forefront to entice investments through innovative and aggressive investment promotion activities.

Additionally, Azmin said the government’s unveiling of the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDigital) will also further accelerate the country’s progress to becoming a technologically-advanced economy.

“The 10-year road map will lay the foundations for the country’s transformation towards an advanced digital economy, and guide MITI and MIDA in our efforts to continue attracting high-value investments of the future,” he added.

Source: The Edge Markets