Julia Goh, Senior Economist at UOB Group and Economist Locke Siew Ting comment on the release of the latest Investment Approvals figures.

Key Takeaways

“Malaysia’s total investment approvals rose 51.5% y/y to MYR177.8bn in Jan-Sep 2021 (vs. MYR117.4bn in Jan-Sep 2020). The manufacturing sector accounted for the largest share of total investments which amounted to MYR103.9bn (58.4% share), followed by the services sector with MYR57.8bn (32.5%) and the primary sector with MYR16.1bn (9.1%).”

“Foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals accounted for nearly 60% of overall approved investments (or at MYR106.1bn) with major investments from Singapore, China, Austria, Japan, and the Netherlands.”

“With year-to-date total investment approvals reaching 96% of our initial full-year target of MYR185bn and incorporating the recent announcement of over MYR30bn worth of investment by a US chip giant, we raise our 2021 full-year target to MYR215bn (2020: MYR167.4bn). However, expectations of tighter global monetary conditions and lingering uncertainties surrounding the pandemic would continue to pose challenges to FDI flows in emerging markets including Malaysia next year. We project MYR200bn worth of investment approvals for 2022.”