He said that the country saw capital formation increasing which underscores new capacities in the economy.

The statistics department 2023’s print last Friday showed that Malaysia’s international investment position registered higher net assets of RM119.4 billion at the end of Q4 2023 versus RM94.9 billion in Q3 2023.

Meanwhile, direct investment abroad amounted to RM662.8 billion with 69.4%, or RM459.9 billion, in the services industry, 12.1% (RM80.5 billion) in the mining and quarrying, and 9% (RM59.9 billion) in the manufacturing sector.

The top three destinations were Singapore valued at RM150 billion, followed by Indonesia at RM70.6 billion, and the Netherlands at RM40.5 billion.

The statistics department stated that Malaysia’s foreign direct investments (FDI) rose by RM11.4 billion to RM926.3 billion at the end of Q4, with 50.6%, or RM468.4 billion, in the services sector, followed by manufacturing (42.2%: RM390.8 billion) and mining and quarrying (4.5%: RM42.1 billion).

The top three countries for FDIs were Singapore (RM 207.7 billion), Hong Kong (RM113.3 billion), and the US (RM97.4 billion).

“We need more of these both domestically, and via FDI. The economy needs to be structurally different as it gains competitiveness in new areas.

“Simply growing what we are already doing will not be sufficient. We must invest in new capacities and explore new things. We need to have more of this,” he noted.