UNCTAD: Malaysia’s FDI inflows in 2011 up 31.5%

Monday, 09 July 2012 02:49

Malaysia's foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in 2011 jumped 31.5% to US$11.97 billion (RM37.83) from 2010, according to data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), making the country the top five preferred investment destinations in Asia.

The data was released by UNCTAD Division on Investment Enterprise, Investment Trends and Issues Branch, Investment Issues Section Chief, Prof Dr Hafiz Mirza, in conjunction with the launch of The World Investment Report 2012, "Towards a New Generation of Investment Policies", by the Minister of International Trade and Industry, Dato' Seri Mustapa Mohamed in Kuala Lumpur, yesterday.

Malaysia is also the third most popular destination for FDI in ASEAN after Singapore and Indonesia while Thailand was ranked fourth.

Speaking to the media after the launch of the Report in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, the Minister said investment interests remain strong as Malaysia continues to receive applications and enquiries, despite external challenges.

Prof Dr Hafiz, who presented the report, viewed Malaysia as still among the strongest in ASEAN, attributing it to the country's services and manufacturing sectors, adding that "it is not possible for the country to fall off the cliff."

He said, "If I am an investor, Malaysia to me is an excellent place to be, a place of strength, the country to come to."

He observed that Malaysia has been very successful in drawing investments through its policies.

Based on UNCTAD's new FDI Contribution Index, Malaysia was among the few economies that had exceeded the organisation's expectations, noting that the country is in a solid position to implement its new set of "next-generation" investment policies.

The FDI Contribution Index ranks the countries surveyed based on the significance of FDI and foreign affiliates to their economies in terms of value added, employment, wages, tax receipts, exports, research and development expenditures and capital formation.

UNCTAD said the manufacturing sector attracted the highest FDIs, accounting for 44% of the total, followed by the services sector with 35 %, mining and quarrying, 20.1 % and agriculture, forestry and fishing, 0.3 %.

The Report also showed that in 2011, East Asia and Southeast Asia, recorded a 14% increase in FDIs to reach US$336 billion, accounting for 22 % of the total global FDI inflows, with Southeast Asia continuing to generate FDI interests.

Adapted from NST Business Times