Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) has said that Malaysia has attracted 123.3 billion ringgit ($27.5 billion) in approved investments in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors in the first half of this year.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) remained the major contributor, accounting for 70.9 per cent of the approved investments with 87.4 billion ringgit ($19.5 billion), it added in a statement on Friday.
Meanwhile, investments from domestic sources contributed 29.1 per cent, amounting to 35.9 billion ringgit ($8 billion), Xinhua news agency reported.
The services sector played a major role in driving the country’s economic recovery, accounting for 63.3 per cent of the total approved investments with 78 billion ringgit ($17.4 billion), followed by the manufacturing sector with 43.1 billion ringgit ($9.6 billion) and the primary sector with 2.2 billion ringgit ($491 million).
Mohamed Azmin Ali, the Minister for International Trade and Industry, said Malaysia is on the right trajectory to secure more high-quality and capital-intensive projects, with the services sector being the key growth driver for the economy and the largest contributor to approved investments for the first half of this year.
In maintaining the momentum, he added that his Ministry will continue efforts to strengthen the country’s competitiveness by developing economic complexity, nurturing a strong industrial ecosystem with innovations, enhancing inclusiveness, creating high-income jobs and promoting opportunities to participate in regional and global supply chains.
“Driven by the National Investment Aspirations, we will intensify our focus towards sectors such as digital economy, electrical and electronics (E&E), pharmaceutical, chemical and aerospace with significant economic potential and sustainable long-term growth,” he said.
