Thursday 28 Mar 2024
By
main news image

KUALA LUMPUR (March 18): InvestKL recorded a total of RM2.3 billion committed investments and 12 multinational corporations (MNCs) attracted to conduct operations in the greater Klang Valley in 2018, a near identical amount to the RM2.2 billion invested by the same number of MNCs in 2017.

InvestKL chairman Datuk Seri Michael Yam said the flattish performance was largely due to factors affecting MNCs globally or in their home countries, and not so much because of changes in Malaysian policies.

"In fact, investors appreciate the institutional reforms being carried out by the current government," he said.

Yam was careful to distinguish between capital flows via the stock market, referred to as 'hot money', and investors that are prepared to commit to long-term operations and growth in the country.

Meanwhile, InvestKL chief executive officer Datuk Zainal Amanshah said MNCs considering Malaysia as an investment destination can benefit from deeper and more regular dialogue with relevant government ministries.

This is necessary to get visible clarity and certainty on the government's policies, as well as to assess industry readiness and whether or not talent is readily available, Zainal said.

He added that fortunately, various government agencies are already engaged in active dialogue with MNCs and the industries.

"The companies, whether through the chambers (of their respective countries) or themselves, have an extremely active amount of dialogue," he said.

Such investors are more likely to consider Malaysia's fundamental economic growth, talent pool and the growth of Asean as a region rather than day-to-day changes, Zainal added.

InvestKL targets to attract 13 MNCs to the region this year, with a focus on the US, China, Europe, UK, Japan and South Korea as source countries.

It is pursuing six sectors, namely smart technologies, consumer technologies, e-commerce, medical devices, industrial automation as well as energy and renewables.

      Print
      Text Size
      Share