KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — Malaysia’s foreign direct investment (FDI) increased to RM614.7 billion as of the third quarter this year (3Q18) from RM590.3 billion recorded in 2Q18, says the Department of Statistics (DoS).
In a statement, the department said the manufacturing sector was the highest FDI recipient (41.4 per cent), followed by financial and insurance/takaful activities (22.3 per cent) and wholesale and retail trade (7.2 per cent).
“The top three FDI countries were Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong,” it said.
Direct Investment Abroad (DIA) position, on the other hand, was also higher at RM491.3 billion (2Q18: RM481.0 billion), mainly in financial and insurance/takaful activities (37.7 per cent), followed by mining and quarrying (16.7 per cent) and agriculture sectors (8.1 per cent).
It said Singapore remained as the main destination for Malaysia’s DIA, followed by Indonesia and the Cayman Islands.
Meanwhile, DoS said Malaysia's financial liabilities increased to RM1.81 trillion as at end of 3Q18 from RM1.76 trillion in the preceding quarter.
Total assets increased to RM1.698 trillion from RM1.683 trillion in 2Q18, which translated to the higher net liabilities of RM112.2 billion from RM79.7 billion in the previous quarter.
“Portfolio investment registered higher net liabilities position of RM287.5 billion from RM272.2 billion in the second quarter, while other investment recorded net liabilities of RM129.0 billion compared with RM123.6 billion previously.
“As at end of September 2018, the international reserves of Bank Negara Malaysia stood at RM426.9 billion, from RM423.3 billion in June,” it added. — Bernama
