GEORGE TOWN, Aug 29 — Penang has topped the list for drawing investments by recording total investments of RM9.214 billion in the first half of this year.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who announced this in a press conference today, said the total investments comprised domestic and foreign investments.

"These are numbers for manufacturing investments. We are glad that we can continue to attract investments to the state despite the current unpredictable economic situation,” he said.

Referring to figures released by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Chow said a large proportion consisted of foreign investments.

Out of the RM9.214 billion, a total of RM506.5 million is from domestic investment while RM8.707 is from foreign investments.

"There were a total 56 projects approved for the first half of this year,” he said.

In comparison to 2018, Chow said Penang recorded more than double the amount of foreign investments.

For the whole of 2018, Penang only recorded a total RM5.781 billion investments, out of which RM3.693 billion are foreign investments while RM2.087 billion are domestic investments.

He attributed the increase in investments to the hard work of various agencies such as Invest Penang and MIDA.

"Without the incentives from MIDA, we would not be attractive to investors,” he said.

Chow said he hopes that the state will continue to play an important role in attracting more investors to the state in the manufacturing and electronics and electrical field.