KUALA LUMPUR: The Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) targets an increase of 5% in approved investments for 2025 amid challenging market conditions after securing RM378.5bil in approved investments in 2024.
The figure was a record high, reflecting a 14.9% year-on-year increase from RM329.5bil in 2023, underpinned by rapid growth in investments in the services sector.
“After discussing with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida), we have agreed to set the target for 2025 investment at 5% growth from 2024.
“This is in line with the expected growth in gross domestic product (GDP) of 4.7%,” Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz told reporters at the Mida Annual Conference 2025.
He acknowledged that 2025 would be a challenging year considering the heightened geopolitical uncertainties.
As such, Tengku Zafrul said the government would monitor and address investor concerns.
“The concern will be more on the supply side, ensuring that investments come in, so that the supply side can continue to produce the products that are required,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul said Miti have plans to boost investments from Turkiye and Brazil, particularly from the aerospace and automotive industries.
“Those are the new areas of investments where we want to build our Malaysian companies to prepare them to go globally as well,” he added.
As for 2024’s approved investments, domestic investments saw an increase to RM208.1bil in 2024 compared with RM141.1bil in 2023. Meanwhile, approved foreign investments dropped to RM170.4bil from RM188.4bil in the previous year.
The United States, Germany, China, Singapore and Hong Kong were the top five foreign investors, with a total contribution of RM128.9bil.
The services sector led the country’s economic expansion with RM252.7bil in approved investments secured in 2024, spearheaded by the information and communications subsector – of which accounted for 53.8% of approved investments under the services subsector.
The manufacturing sector came in second, with a total of RM120.5bil in approved investments, representing 31.8% of the total.
“The electrical and electronics industry remains the backbone of our manufacturing sector, securing RM55.8bil in approved investments.
“Of this, 86.2% is made up of the semiconductor sector,” Tengku Zafrul said. The primary sector attracted RM5.3bil in investments across 67 projects in 2024.
Mida chief executive officer Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid said the agency would be focused on attracting high-quality, strategic investments that align with national priorities.
“Through proactive investor engagement, end-to-end support, and fostering strong public-private partnerships, Mida and Miti continue to drive industrial transformation, accelerate the adoption of advanced technologies, and champion sustainable practices.
“To remain competitive and resilient, Malaysia must transform the key sectors – particularly manufacturing and services –by moving up the value chain through a whole-of-government approach,” he said.