KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia anticipates a 5% increase in investments for 2025, in line with gross domestic product growth, following record high RM378.5 billion in approved investments in 2024, said Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
He said the government set the target after discussions with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida).
“After discussions with Mida’s management, we have agreed to set the investment target for 2025 to increase by 5% from 2024,” he said at Mida Annual Media Conference 2025, an event that unveils the country’s 2024 investment performance in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors today.
Malaysia secured RM378.5 billion in approved investments in 2024, up from RM329.5 billion in 2023, the highest on record.
The investments span the manufacturing, services, and primary sectors, signalling strong investor confidence despite global economic uncertainties, the minister said, adding that this represents a 14.9% year-on-year increase, covering 6,700 projects.
Tengku Zafrul said these investments will create more than 207,000 new job opportunities for Malaysians.
Of the total investments, 55% (RM208.1 billion) came from domestic sources, continuing a two-year trend of Malaysian investors increasing their investments locally.
Foreign investments contributed 45% or RM170.4 billion of approved investments.
“Malaysia has a healthy blend of investors from both the East and the West, reinforcing Malaysia’s position as a preferred investment destination,” said Tengku Zafrul.
The United States led foreign investments with RM32.8 billion, followed by Germany RM32.2 billion, China RM28.2 billion, Singapore RM27.3 billion and Hong Kong RM7.4 billion.
Selangor attracted the highest amount of approved investments at RM101.1 billion, followed by Kuala Lumpur RM91.5 billion, Johor RM48.5 billion, Kedah RM45.8 billion and Penang RM32 billion.
In terms of sectors, in 2024, services secured RM252.7 billion in approved investments, or 66.8% of the total.
“These investments are set to generate nearly 120,0005 new jobs, reaffirming the sector’s role as the backbone of our economy, driving solid growth and job creation,” said Tengku Zafrul.
Within the services segment, the information and communication sub-sector attracted RM136 billion in investments.
“This made up 53.8% of total approved investments for the services sector, highlighting the growing adoption of digital technologies across sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, finance, tourism and the halal economy,” the minister said.
Tengku Zafrul said this trend extends to other vital areas, such as real estate, which saw RM64.5 billion in investments, support services with RM12.9 billion, utilities at RM11.1 billion, and transport services receiving RM8.5 billion.
Meanwhile, the Digital Investment Office, jointly run by Mida and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, delivered RM133.3 billion in digital investments in 2024.
“This has effectively surpassed our RM130 billion national digital investment target set for 2025, with total approved investments reaching RM278 billion between 2021 and December 2024,” Tengku Zafrul said.
“Notable projects include STT GDC’s commitment to building a world-class sustainable digital infrastructure. Located in Johor, this project is poised to advance our vision for the Johor Singapore Special Economic Zone as a hub for innovation, technology, and investment.”
In 2024, Malaysia’s manufacturing sector secured RM120.5 billion in investments, or 31.8% of total approved investments. Involving 1,108 projects, these will create nearly 88,000 (87,695) new jobs. Notably, 82.2% (or more than 72,000 jobs) are reserved for Malaysians.
Tengku Zafrul said 41.6% of these positions are high-value roles, spanning management, technical and skilled labour categories.
Several key industries are leading the way in high-value job creation – 72.6% of jobs in aerospace are high-value positions. The figure is 44.4% in chemicals and chemical products, 40.6% in electrical and electronics (E&E), 37% in pharmaceuticals and 34.4% in medical devices.
The E&E industry secured RM55.8 billion in approved investments. Of this, 86.2% is in the semiconductor subsector. Other key contributors include transport equipment RM15.8 billion, chemicals and chemical products RM10.6 billion, machinery and equipment RM10.6 billion, and food manufacturing RM6.1 billion.
Major manufacturing projects approved in 2024 include EVE Energy Malaysia’s RM6.8 billion expansion for lithium-ion battery production in Kedah, MKS Instruments Malaysia’s RM2.2 billion super centre factory in Penang, F&N Agrivalley’s RM1.7 billion integrated dairy farming and dairy product manufacturing in Negeri Sembilan, Chery Corporate Malaysia’s RM1.4 billion assembly plant in Selangor, Plexus Manufacturing’s RM1 billion sixth facility in Penang and Dominant Opto Technologies’ RM1 billion automotive LED manufacturing facility in Malacca.
