THE government is confident local and international investors remain optimistic about their investments un Malaysia despite its low economic growth in the second quarter of the year, International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said.

He said the government’s RM295 billion economic stimulus packages, the reduced unemployment rate, as well as the successful management of the Covid-19 pandemic have strengthened the confidence of investors and business community.

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) projections of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) of between 6.3% and 7.5% for 2021 also contributed to positive investor sentiment, he said.

“Although this is just a projection, it shows the level of confidence foreign and local investors have in Malaysia and the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

“In order to record a positive growth as projected by the IMF and World Bank, we need to accelerate the country’s economy from now,” he told Bernama after launching National Month in Kuala Lumpur, today.

Azmin, who also launched the Covid-19 Awareness Campaign, urged companies in Malaysia to register on the Miti database called CIMS 3.0.

Meanwhile, he said the government remained committed to keeping Malaysia as a competitive investment destination, while attracting more foreign investors, especially in the midst of the US-China trade conflict.

He expressed confidence the economy would improve in 2021.

Malaysia’s GDP contracted 17.1% in the second quarter of 2020, the worst double-digit quarterly decline since 1998, due to the coronavirus movement control order (MCO) that brought the economy nearly to a standstill.

As of May 31 last year, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority has persuaded investors to relocate 32 projects worth RM17.5 billion to Malaysia.

Of these, 28 projects with investments amounting to RM8.36 billion have been approved, while four projects with investments worth RM9.14 billion are under evaluation. – Bernama, August 24, 2020.