To attract FDI, don't just promote Malaysia, take care of investors after they arrive — World Bank

KUALA LUMPUR (March 26): The World Bank said today Malaysia should have a more coordinated approach in its efforts to lure foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country and the focus should be on providing effective aftercare to investors once they arrive in the country to ensure their investments here stay on for the long term.

The World Bank's lead economist for Malaysia Richard Record said it is important for Malaysia to identify a clear set of national investment aspirations in terms of what it wants to offer investors and what the country seeks in return.

"We know that Malaysia has many agencies seeking to attract new investments into Malaysia, perhaps [it should be] a more coordinated approach, one that not just focuses on promoting Malaysia but providing effective aftercare to investors once they come into Malaysia to ensure longevity in maximisation of spillovers.

"The new national investment policy which will be announced very shortly provides an opportunity to refocus on those aspirations," Record said today during a virtual press briefing in conjunction with the publication of The World Bank's East Asia and Pacific Economic Update report for April 2021.

He said Malaysia has sound fundamentals and a strong record to keep attracting FDI for a long time as the country has many agencies tasked to attract new investments into the nation.

He also said rumours of political uncertainty in Malaysia have affected investors' decisions on whether they want to invest their money in the country.

Record, however, did not elaborate on or specify the nature of the rumoured political uncertainty in the country.

Meanwhile, The World Bank's East Asia and Pacific Economic Update report for April 2021 contains updated economic growth forecasts for countries in the region against the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The report said Malaysia, which is expected to register a 2021 gross domestic product growth of 6%, witnessed a significant resurgence, while Cambodia, Myanmar, Mongolia, and Thailand have seen more limited spurts in infections. 
 
"Of the countries in which the virus raged a few months ago, the situation has improved in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, but the number of cases remains high. The emergence of more transmissible variants of Covid-19, however, poses new challenges to the containment of the disease globally," the report said.

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