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Malaysia: Investments likely to regain momentum next year
KUALA LUMPUR: Overall investments in Malaysia will regain momentum between 2021 and 2022, according to United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (UOB Malaysia).
The bank said this would be driven by the government’s focus on reviving the investment climate and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority’s (Mida) ongoing efforts to lure and expedite investment approval process, as well as business opportunities emerging from a post-pandemic new normal and gradual economic recovery.
“The Project Acceleration and Coordination Unit (PACU) has been established in MIDA to facilitate the approval of businesses, particularly manufacturing and related services, and to ensure that the implementation of approved projects is successful within 24 months, ” the banking group said in its note yesterday.
As of July 2020, Mida has a total of 732 projects with proposed investments of RM35.9bil in the pipeline for the manufacturing, services and primary sectors, and the actualisation of these investment approvals could help jump-start private investments in 2021-2022, said UOB Malaysia.
“Despite the ongoing pandemic effects and downside risks to the global and Malaysia’s economic outlook, year-to-date investment approvals have already hit 64.8% of our 2020 full-year target of RM100bil, ” it added.
Meanwhile, total approved investments in the primary, manufacturing and services sectors stood at RM64.8bil in first half of 2020 – 38.4% year-on-year lower due to the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.
Of the total investments approved during the period, approximately 69.8% or RM45.3bil were domestic investments.
The remaining 30.2% or RM19.5bil were foreign investments.
Additionally, manufacturing investment approvals overtook services investment approvals for the first time since 2010, while primary investment approvals hit a record low, added UOB Malaysia. – Bernama
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2020/10/06/investments-likely-to-regain-momentum-next-year