Domestic Approved Investment Projected To Rise 13%

thecekodok

 United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (UOB Malaysia) projects approved investments in the country to increase 13% to RM185 billion this year with almost 40% being from foreign direct investment (FDI).


Managing Director and Head of Country Wholesale Banking, Ng Wei Wei, said he was confident that the country's diverse economic potential, strong fundamentals, accommodative policies and good demographics would continue to attract foreign companies looking to expand into the region.


“China, Europe and the United States (US) are expected to remain among the main sources of FDI and most of the capital as well as channeled into high value -added sectors, including electrical and electronics (E&E), chemicals, manufacturing and industry.


"We believe that the restructuring of the supply chain to ASEAN countries due to geopolitical uncertainties, including US-China trade tensions will continue to be a catalyst for growth in key sectors such as industry, consumer goods as well as telecommunications, media and technology," he said in a statement. today.



Wei Wei added that growth expectations were also supported by the launch of the 5G global network which would boost the E&E and electronics manufacturing sectors as well as enhance the country's digital infrastructure.


In addition, Wei Wei explained, following the government’s efforts in promoting the environmental, social and governance agenda in the country, banks are seeing growing interest in renewable energy -related projects such as solar energy.


"When the country shifts to renewable energy and upgrades its infrastructure with cleaner energy sources, it will attract more investment from multinational companies that want to expand their operations in a sustainable way," he said as reported by Bernama.


According to the bank, despite facing a challenging global economic environment last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysia recorded a total approved investment of RM164 billion of which RM64.2 billion was from FDI sources.


Last year, China was the country's main source of FDI with RM18.1 billion or equivalent to 28.2% while other contributors included Singapore with RM10 billion; The Netherlands (RM7 billion) and the US (RM4.3 billion).