MALAYSIA recorded a total approved investment of RM164 billion in 2020, which is 22.42% lower than the RM211.4 billion achieved in 2019, said Mohamed Azmin Ali.

The senior minister (international trade and industry) said the RM164 billion entails 4,599 projects in the manufacturing, services, and primary sectors. 

“These investments are expected to create 114,673 new jobs in various sectors once implemented,” he said in a statement announcing the Malaysian Investment Development Authority’s (Mida) performance for 2020 today.

There were 5,287 projects with investments totalling RM211.4 billion approved in 2019.

The decline in investments is attributed to the services and primary sectors, which were directly impacted by declines in global demands due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the movement-control order.

Domestic direct investments (DDI) accounted for the bulk of the total approved investments in 2020, at RM99.8billion or 60.9% while foreign direct investment made up the remaining 39.1% at RM64.2 billion.

Mida said the manufacturing sector recorded the highest investments at RM91.3 billion.

Next were the services sector (RM66.7 billion) and primary sector (RM6 billion).

China remains the number one source of investment for Malaysia at RM18.1 billion followed by Singapore (RM10 billion) and the Netherlands (RM7 billion).

The three countries collectively account for 54.8% of the total FDI in 2020.

Among states, Selangor was the largest recipient of approved investments last year at RM38.7 billion followed by Sabah (RM21 billion), Sarawak (RM19.6 billion), Kuala Lumpur (RM17.1 billion) and Penang (RM16 billion). 

The five states make up more than 60% of the total investments last year. – March 2, 2021.