UOB Malaysia maintained its projection for full -year approved investments of RM185 billion in 2021 compared to RM167.4 billion in 2020 despite short -term challenges due to the current nationwide movement restrictions.
Senior Economist Julia Goh said the implementation of national vaccinations would revive the economy and help investment regain momentum.
He said the recovery in approved investment would help boost private investment and increase production capacity in sectors that continue to see strong growth and demand.
“As of March 2021, there are proposed investments worth RM54.4 billion that may be implemented this year.
"However, this is subject to the Covid-19 situation, vaccination rates, preventive measures and the global macro situation," he said as reported by Bernama.
Domestically, the government has announced several initiatives under various stimulus plans and the 2021 Budget to attract high -value investments.
In addition, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) has established a Project Acceleration and Coordination Unit (PACU) to provide comprehensive facilities to all approved projects and introduced several online services for license approvals, incentives and exemptions to expedite project implementation.
MIDA also introduced a new process workflow for expatriate applications with a one -stop center to assess the applications of eligible business travelers to enter Malaysia for trade and investment purposes.
Total investments approved in Malaysia jumped 95.6% to RM80.6 billion in the first quarter of this year, from RM41.2 billion in the first quarter of 2020, despite the ongoing challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The manufacturing sector continued to attract the highest level of investment, amounting to RM58.8 billion or 72.9%of total investments approved, followed by services at RM15.6 billion (19.4%) and the primary sector at RM6.2 billion (7.7%).
Goh explained that the increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) was evidenced by higher approved foreign investment amounting to RM54.9 billion.
FDI represented 68.1% of total investments approved during the quarter, followed by domestic investments approved amounting to RM25.7 billion or 31.9%.
