FDI flows into Malaysia top 188 billion USD in Q2

Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia recorded 836.2 billion RM (over 188.1 billion USD) in foreign direct investment (FDI) at the end of the second quarter, up 24.1 billion RM from Q1, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia.

The manufacturing sector remained the largest recipient with a value of 360 billion RM or 43.1%, followed by financial activities 189.8 billion RM (22.7%) and wholesale and retail trade 53 billion RM (6.3%).

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the FDI sources were largely from Asia, which amounted to 431.1 billion RM or 51.6%, mainly from Singapore and Hong Kong (China), followed by Europe and the Americas.

Singapore was still the biggest source of FDI, with an accumulated 174.1 billion RM (20.8%), followed by Hong Kong with 91.1 billion RM (10.9%), the United States 90 billion RM (10.8%) and Japan 84.2 billion RM (10.3%).

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s direct investment abroad increased to 577.4 billion RM in Q2, compared to 551.7 billion RM at the end of the previous quarter. The top three destinations were Singapore (118 billion RM or 20.4%), Indonesia (59.8 billion RM; 10.%), and the Cayman Islands (35.5 billion RM; 6.1%).

Malaysia recorded net foreign investment inflows of 48.1 billion ringgit (10.93 billion USD) in 2021, the highest since 2016, signaling the robust recovery, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) has enhanced guidelines for its eTrade programme for Malaysian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), effective July 1, aiming to boost exports through cross-border e-commerce marketplaces.

Malaysian Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on July 8 said five cases of the COVID-19 Omicron BA.5 variant have been detected in the country and are likely to spread widely.

Finance Minister Zafrul Aziz has said Malaysia's inflation may reach around 11 percent if the government does not implement subsidies for essential items like fuel.