KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has called on local investors to invest more funds in the country and support plans laid out in the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), which would strengthen Malaysia's sustainability in the long-term.
He said although Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) had assumed and would continue to have an important role in Malaysia's development, it should not detract from the important role that domestic investment plays in the local economy.
"More FDIs is more good news, of course," he said but the more Domestic Direct Investments (DDIs) the country have, the less reliant it becomes on FDIs, and the less exposure to the uncertainties of the global economy.
"(Hence) I would like to call upon domestic investors to put your capital in Malaysia, we have provided the platform for you to explore the opportunities and you may create your own wealth in your beloved country," he said at the Domestic Investment Summit 2011 held here Thursday.
Present was Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, his deputy Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir and top corporate figures.
Historically, FDIs have been a bigger contributor to total investments in the country than DDIs.
For instance, the FDI:DDI ratio for total approved investments in the manufacturing sector between 2005 and 2010 was about 60:40.
In the first seven months of the year, the ratio of FDI to DDI in terms of approved investments in the manufacturing sector was 50:50 and the government was watching the development closely, he said.
The approved DDI in the manufacturing and services sector from January to July stood at RM26.9bil, of which, RM15.9bil was registered in the manufacturing sector and the remaining in the services sector.
Under the ETP, the government expect DDIs to outpace FDIs.
Najib said the country needed domestic investments totalling about RM940bil over ten years, or roughly, RM94bil per year, in order to attain high income and developed country status by 2020.
"We have quite some way more to go to reach our DDI target of RM94bil for the whole year," he said, adding that the government always believed there was potential to further boost domestic investment.
Najib, who is also Finance Minister, guaranteed that both local and foreign investors would enjoy the same incentives and there would be no unfair treatment towards both types of investors in the country.
"Tell us also what else we can do to help you increase your investments in the country," he said, adding that the government would make decisions as friendly as possible for businesses to prosper.
He also said the government had provided a wide and diverse range of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to attract quality DDIs to capital intensive, high technology industries and to the creative and knowledge-based industries.
"We are also making major investments in education and training to increase our pool of knowledge workers and improve the quality of our graduates," Najib added.
The government has identified specific sectors which will be given support and high-impact funding, which includes the halal industry, green energy, biotechnology, aerospace, advanced electronics, the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry and the maintenance-repair-overhaul engineering industry.
"We have worked to reduce the cost of doing business by removing regulatory obstacles, simplifying rules and procedures and, promoting transparency and accountability in the government's delivery system," he added. - Bernama