KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 (NNN-BERNAMA) – Malaysia attracted 71.4 billion ringgit (15.5 billion U.S. dollars) in approved investments, from Jan to Mar, 2023, official data showed, yesterday.
According to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), foreign direct investment contributed 37.5 billion ringgit, representing 52.5 percent of the total investments.
Meanwhile, domestic direct investments accounted for 33.9 billion ringgit, representing 47.5 percent of the total approved investments.
“Our ability to attract 71.4 billion ringgit in approved investments for the first quarter of 2023, underscores Malaysia’s continued appeal as an investment powerhouse,” said Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, the minister of Investment, Trade and Industry.
According to him, all these will have a positive spillover impact, particularly on the small- and medium-sized enterprises, in their domestic supply chain and on Malaysians, in terms of better-paying jobs, which will help support the economy in face of various global challenges this year.
In the first quarter, the services sector surpassed all other sectors in approved investments, registering 53.6 billion ringgit, which accounted for 75.1 percent of the total approved investments.
This represented 226.8 percent year-on-year growth, over the previous year’s figure of 16.4 billion ringgit.
As for the manufacturing sector, the sector’s investment value stood at 15.6 billion ringgit or 21.8 percent of the total approved investments.
The primary sector, on the other hand, drew investments valued at 2.2 billion ringgit. (1 ringgit equals 0.22 USD).– NNN-BERNAMA