PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has successfully attracted potential foreign investments amounting to RM76.1 billion as of March this year, the result of the country’s successful trade and investment missions in Australia, Germany and France, says Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
He attributed this success to the collaborative efforts of several ministries and government agencies such as the finance ministry, the investment, trade and industry ministry, Wisma Putra, the Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia, Bernama reported.
Speaking at an assembly of the finance ministry’s staff today, he said it was also the result of the government’s efforts to ensure political stability, its cooperation with civil servants, as well as its clear national goals and policies.
Anwar also highlighted the reception extended during his recent official visit to Germany.
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It was recently reported that Malaysia had succeeded in attracting potential investments worth RM45.4 billion following the prime minister’s visit to Germany.
However, Anwar said there was still room for improvement, including in terms of expediting approval for projects.
Meanwhile, on the growth figures and forecasts for this year, Anwar said Bank Negara Malaysia’s Economic and Monetary Review 2023 released yesterday was positive and reassuring.
“The foundation of Malaysia’s economy remains robust, and the economic outlook for 2024 is better than that of 2023 as we achieved a gross domestic product growth of 3.7% despite facing various challenges and the global economic volatility.
“For this year, our economy is expected to strengthen further with growth forecasts of 4% to 5%,” he said.
Factors that support the improvement in Malaysia’s economic performance include the decrease in unemployment rate which fell to 3.3% in January 2024, and the inflation rate which dropped to 1.6% in the fourth quarter of 2023 (Q4 2023) from 2% in Q3 2023.
Export performance also showed signs of recovery in January this year, with an increase of 8.7% after declining for 10 consecutive months from March to December 2023.
Anwar said that in addition to the positive macroeconomic figures, the prospects for national investment were also at a promising level.
“Last year, we achieved approved investments totalling RM329.5 billion, the highest in the country’s history,” he added.
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