KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said that Malaysia has recorded an approved investment amount of RM329.5 billion in 2023 which is 23 per cent higher than the previous year.
He said that this amount is the highest approved investment in the country’s history, signalling a robust resurgence and revitalisation of the national economy under the administration of the unity government.
“Of the total investment, foreign investment is the main contributor of 57.2per cent compared to domestic investment of 42.8 per cent. This excellent performance was supported by an increase of 35.1 per cent for domestic investment and 15.3 per cent for foreign investment.
“Indirectly, this is a sign that investment-friendly (pro-investment) and business-friendly (pro-business) policies implemented through a whole-of-government approach have begun to bear fruit in increasing investor confidence,” he said in a statement this evening, adding that the matter was presented during the National Investment Council meeting today.
He added that the approved investment, spread across 5,101 projects, is poised to generate over 127,000 new job opportunities, fortifying the nation’s employment landscape.
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said that the service sector spearheaded the investment inflow, contributing 51.1 per cent of the total, followed by manufacturing with RM152.0 billion (46.1 per cent), and the primary industries with RM9.1 billion (2.8 per cent).
He said that during the meeting, discussions also revolved around the country’s digital investment trajectory, aligning with the rapid development of the digital economy sector, which is pivotal for bolstering Malaysia’s investment agenda.
“The digital economy, which contributed 23.2 per cent to GDP in 2021, is projected to rise to 25.5 per cent by 2025.
“For the period 2021 to September 2023, a total of 396 digital-related projects have been approved with an investment value of RM128.9 billion, which includes projects approved through the National Committee on Investments.
“The investment in this digital project is expected to create job opportunities for 36,553 local people. Among the approved digital investments are in the data centre sector, cloud computing, data hosting, big data analysis, and artificial intelligence,” Anwar added.
He also noted that the presence of leading global digital companies in Malaysia underscores the nation’s attractive and conducive investment ecosystem for digital ventures.
“Therefore, the government needs to facilitate as much as possible potential digital investment without any compromise on related aspects of data security and national sovereignty,” he said.
