Malaysia to create nearly 24,000 job opportunities with influx of investments

Malaysia’s trade performance has continued to be driven by an influx of domestic and foreign direct investments, as a result of various bilateral and multilateral agreements, according to Malaysian minister of investment, trade and industry (MITI), Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz who was speaking at the Australian Network Leaders’ Summit 2023.

He noted that Malaysia’s good performance has benefitted from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), as well as the free trade agreement (FTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP).

The CPTPP is a free trade agreement between Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam which was signed by the 11 countries on 8 March 2018. The RCEP on the other hand is a free trade agreement between 15 countries, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, Australia, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, and New Zealand. It comprises about 30% of global GDP and about a third of the world’s population.

Minister Aziz told media that a total of 18 FTAs have been signed which will greatly facilitate trade.

As a result of this, he said in his speech that 24000 jobs opportunities were created. “Our efforts have earned international recognition with Malaysia making impressive strides in the 2023 IMD world competitiveness ranking which we have improved by five notches,” he added.

Along with the improved competitiveness rating, Malaysia also saw a 60% year-on-year rise to RM71.4 billion in its approved investments in the first quarter. 

Don't miss: Malaysian businesses urged to prepare for investment opportunities in China

This, he stated, is a testament to the confidence that foreign investors have vested in Malaysia, which then aids policymakers to unlock numerous opportunities for Malaysia’s corporate businesses as well as small and medium enterprises and Malaysians across various sectors.

To continue building on this growth, Minister Aziz pointed out that the future of Malaysia rests on the younger generations of the country, encouraging them to pursue a tertiary education which would catapult them to the top 25% of the population.

However, while Malaysia’s growth has been positive, Minister Aziz pointed out that businesses need to remain patient in gaining approvals from the government. He added that the ministry will join hands with the relevant agencies to speed up the approvals required by domestic and international investors.

Malaysia has been on a roll this year in garnering international investments, especially with the influx of data and tech giants such as Tesla and Amazon Web Services setting up shop on its shores, with eyes on Microsoft and Google. Other than these major companies, Malaysia is also expected to rake in foreign direct investments worth billions of ringgit through the Malaysia Digital initiative, an outcome of the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation’s (MDEC) consistent involvement at London Tech Week 2023.

This, according to MDEC’s CEO, Mahadhir Aziz, is a positive consequence of Malaysia consistently working with global digital companies, with UK being one of the primary contributors to Malaysia's digital economy.  

Related articles:
Malaysia trade ministry secures RM24 billion investment from Republic of Korea
Malaysia sees over 50% dip in job listings for marketing, advertising and PR
Top 5 job changes in Malaysia that caught readers' attention in 2022