Total approved investment projection of RM200b for Malaysia for 2022 remains achievable, says UOB

Total approved investment projection of RM200b for Malaysia for 2022 remains achievable, says UOB

06 Sep 2022

UOB Global Economics & Markets Research said its total approved investment projection of RM200 billion for Malaysia for this year (2021: RM309.4 billion) remains achievable.

In a macro economics note on Tuesday (Sept 6), UOB said Malaysia attracted a total of RM123.3 billion worth of committed investments in the first half of 2022 (1H22), which was 8.5% lower than the RM134.7 billion approved for the same period last year.

It said more than 60% of 1H22 approvals were channelled into the services sector (RM78 billion or a 63.2% share), followed by the manufacturing (RM43.1 billion or 35%) and primary (RM2.2 billion or 1.8%) sectors.

UOB said foreign direct investment (FDI), at RM87.4 billion or 70.9%, remained the biggest contributor to overall investment approvals.

It said the remaining RM35.9 billion or 29.1% were domestic direct investments.

It said investments from China (RM48.6 billion or a 55.6% share) dominated FDI in 1H22, followed by Germany (RM9 billion or 10.3%), Singapore (RM6 billion or 6.9%), Brunei (RM5.1 billion or 5.8%), and the Netherlands (RM4.1 billion or 4.7%).

“The country’s ongoing policy reforms, accelerated digitalisation, transition into Covid-19 endemicity, and green blueprints are key catalysts for investments in the foreseeable future.

“Further investment incentives may be announced in the coming budget that will be tabled on Oct 7,” it said.

Source: The Edge Markets