Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) stated that the total amount of approved investment for the manufacturing sector, the service sector and the primary sector for the year 2023 brought in RM329.5 billion and is expected to create as many as 127,332 new job opportunities.
For the manufacturing sector and the regulated service sector, under the purview of MITI and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), job opportunities that will be created are comprised of out of a total of 73,939 job opportunities for the manufacturing sector and 52,732 job opportunities for the service sector.
Deputy MITI Minister Liew Chin Tong, in the ministry’s winding up session in the Dewan Negara today (Mar 25) clarified that approved investment refers to investment planning for the capital expenditure of a project in the long term including the cost of purchasing land, factories, machines, machinery and others.
Liew said observations of annual project implementations shows more than 85% approved manufacturing projects in 2021 and 2022 have been implemented. While 50.1% of the manufacturing projects approved in 2023 has reached the stage implemented, an encouraging performance since manufacturing projects will generally takes 18 to 24 months to complete, depending on the level of complexity of a project.
In ensuring investment commitments obtained from official visits abroad and TIM can be realised or have its implementation accelerated by various steps including:
(i) continuous engagement sessions by MIDA’s Foreign Office with companies that have committed investment;
(ii) periodically monitor commitment status and progress implementation of investment projects through the Council National Investment (MPN) and Action Committee Investment and Trade Coordination (JTPPP). Both MPN and JTPPP are Government initiatives on year 2023 (Note: MPN was established from May 2023 and JTPPP from October 2023); The MPN is chaired by the Prime Minister, actin as the highest executive body in planning the agenda related to investment while ensuring governance national investment is empowered. While JTPPP chaired by MITI Minister. Across 2023, the main issues and challenges in the implementation of investment projects, especially strategic and iconic investments and quality investments and high impact to ensure smoothness in their implementation; and
(iii) establishing a Malaysian Investment Facilitation Center or Invest Malaysia Facilitation Center (IMFC) at the head office MIDA – which is also an initiative started on year 2023 (establishment of IMFC from December 2023), under aims to speed up various approval processes, with participation from various Ministries and Relevant Government Agencies under one roof.
This initiative can not only reduce bureaucracy but facilitate businesses further by inclusive consultation and advise services to investors.
Foreign Direct Investment – Increasing Wage Rates and Productivity
On concerns over Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and its relation to growth wage rates and productivity, Liew said, under the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 or NIMP 2030, the Government’s priority for investment lies in high-impact subsectors such as electricity and electronics (E&E), chemical, electric vehicle (EV), aerospace, pharmaceutical, medical devices and advanced materials.
These sectors have been identified as those having a high impact on national economic growth such as increasing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the manufacturing sector from RM366.7 billion in 2023 to RM587.5 billion in 2030.
In addition, the median salary of the manufacturing sector will also increase from RM1,976 (2021) to RM4,510 based on the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) 9.6 percent in 2030.
Liew said, in line with NIMP 2030, MITI is currently in the process of revamping the Industry4WRD Intervention Fund program to a Tech Up initiative that promotes automation and digitisation at all levels and no longer limited to IR4.0. This effort is one of the steps to increase productivity and reduce dependence on foreign workers low skilled which will soon create high quality job opportunities with decent pay for citizen.
He added, among the steps taken by MITI is through immigration facilitation methods for strategic investors who make quality investments with a value of at least RM5 billion in Malaysia, especially for investment in the manufacturing sector which is targeted and promoted under the New Investment Policy (NIP) and NIMP 2030.
Apart from that, MITI through the MPC has been and is implement several programs to increase productivity in the manufacturing sector, among which is the Academy in Industry (AiI) work-based learning programmes. Ail is an initiative that began in 2022 to empower development of local talent including B40 groups through the concept of place and train to fulfil current market and industry needs. It is expected to be able to address skills mismatch issues in the industry and create high productivity through talent matching with skill improvement (reskilling and upskilling). It is a work while studying programme under the supervision of the MPC in collaboration with the Government, industry and academia.
The implementation of AiI will have an impact on efforts to boost national productivity growth, overcome the problems of the country’s economic structure in addition to being able to create skilled and income-generating employment opportunities to commensurate with graduates in the field of Technical Education and Training and Vocational (TVET).
In addition, MPC with the strategic cooperation of related industries players, have developed the Nexus Productivity programmes which began in 2017 aimed at boosting industrial productivity and efficiency as outlined under the 12th Malaysia Plan which is the achievement of 40 percent Employee Compensation to Output In Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 35 percent increase in energy proficiency.
