JOHOR BAHARU, Jan 12 – Malaysia needs to be more aggressive in attracting foreign direct investments(FDI) this year due to the difficult global economic scenario. Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the country needs to also effectively compete with countries, particularly those in the region, in attracting the FDI.
“This year is very challenging from the aspect of investments and even as we get more aggressive in attracting the overseas investments, others are also stepping up their efforts. So, we have to compete in attracting various FDI from all over the world,” he told reporters after a giving a briefing on the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) here Sunday.
Mustapa was responding to a question on whether Malaysia’s investment target is expected to be impacted this year, on the back of global economic challenges that are expected to be more intense. A total of RM153.2 billion in investments was recorded in the manufacturing, services and other key sectors for the first nine months of 2015.
This figure, was however, lower than that RM180 billion approved for the same period of 2014. Meanwhile, the investments during this period, involved RM124.9 billion in domestic investment, that is 82 per cent of the overall total, with the rest being from overseas.
