Malaysia reached a historic milestone in 2024 by approving investments worth 378.5 billion ringgit (approximately $85.8 billion), a 14.9% hike compared to the previous year, according to data from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) released on Tuesday.
Out of the total approved investments, 208.1 billion ringgit ($47.2 billion) originated from domestic sources, while foreign investments accounted for 170.4 billion ringgit ($36.6 billion).
The investments last year spanned 6,700 projects and created 207,241 new jobs.
The services sector dominated the allocation, attracting 66.8% of the total approved investments, or 252.7 billion ringgit ($57.3 billion), thanks to a 50.1% surge compared to a year ago.
The information and communication sub-sector spearheaded the growth within the services sector, attracting 136 billion ringgit ($30.8 billion), which represents 53.8% of the total service sector investments.
These investments highlight Malaysia’s rapid adoption of digital technologies across industries such as agriculture, health care, finance, tourism, and the Islamic Digital Economy, said the statement.
Malaysia’s manufacturing sector attracted approved investments worth 120.5 billion ringgit in 2024 ($27.3 billion), representing 31.8% of the total.
In addition, the primary sector contributed 5.3 billion ringgit ($1.2 billion) to the total approved investments.
The US was Malaysia’s largest foreign investor, contributing 32.8 billion ringgit ($7.4 billion), followed by Germany with 32.2 billion ringgit ($7.3 billion), China with 28.2 billion ringgit ($6.4 billion), and Singapore with 27.3 billion ringgit ($6.2 billion).