'Indonesia gets more FDI because of large population'
Published: Jan 21, 2012 11:06 PM | Updated: Jan 21, 2012 11:11 PM
Foreign investors were attracted to Indonesia because of its high economic potential due to its huge population, says Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah.
Indonesia received RM59.8 billion in foreign direct investment last year compared to Malaysia's RM31 billion.
Foreign investors were attracted to Indonesia because of its high economic potential due to its huge population, says Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah.
Indonesia received RM59.8 billion in foreign direct investment last year compared to Malaysia's RM31 billion.
"Investors were attracted by the population size, that's why Indonesia garnered more investment than us," said Ahmad Husni.
He added that Indonesia is "still a developing country dependent on labour, while Malaysia has entered an era of creative technology and innovation."
According to Ahmad Husni, Malaysia's economy is still at a comfortable level and will be little affected by the uncertain economic climate in Europe and the United States.
Projects under the government's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and new projects identified this year will be able to sustain the domestic economy's growth momentum, he said.
"The Asian Development Bank projected at the end of last year that an economic crisis in Europe and the United States would pull down Malaysia's economy only by 0.7 per cent, and a crisis in Europe by only 0.6 per cent," he said.
Ahmad Husni made the remarks after handing over Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia RM500 vouchers to some 2,500 residents of Tambun parliamentary constituency at Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil Klebang in Ipoh today.
"If our economic growth falters, we would still be in a comfortable position as the government will implement a RM6 billion special stimulus package via private financing initiative this year to further spur domestic growth," he said.
No need for foreign borrowing
According to a World Bank report this year, Malaysia's target of 4.9 percent growth puts the country in a good position to obviate the need for foreign borrowing, he said.
"We do not need to borrow from outside as our foreign exchange reserves stand at RM423.4 billion, sufficient to finance 9.7 months of retained imports and at four times the short-term external debt," he said.
Ahmad Husni added that the country received an estimated RM90 billion in investment last year, although the entry point projects under the ETP and projects under the National Key Results Areas are still at an early stage of development.
"Until September last year, we received RM75 billion in investment. Our target last year was RM83 billion, and we estimate that for the whole of 2011, we received over RM90 billion worth of investment," he said.
Indonesia received RM59.8 billion in foreign direct investment last year compared to Malaysia's RM31 billion.
"Investors were attracted by the population size, that's why Indonesia garnered more investment than us," said Ahmad Husni.
He added that Indonesia is "still a developing country dependent on labour, while Malaysia has entered an era of creative technology and innovation."
According to Ahmad Husni, Malaysia's economy is still at a comfortable level and will be little affected by the uncertain economic climate in Europe and the United States.
Projects under the government's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and new projects identified this year will be able to sustain the domestic economy's growth momentum, he said.
"The Asian Development Bank projected at the end of last year that an economic crisis in Europe and the United States would pull down Malaysia's economy only by 0.7 per cent, and a crisis in Europe by only 0.6 per cent," he said.
Ahmad Husni made the remarks after handing over Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia RM500 vouchers to some 2,500 residents of Tambun parliamentary constituency at Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil Klebang in Ipoh today.
"If our economic growth falters, we would still be in a comfortable position as the government will implement a RM6 billion special stimulus package via private financing initiative this year to further spur domestic growth," he said.
No need for foreign borrowing
According to a World Bank report this year, Malaysia's target of 4.9 percent growth puts the country in a good position to obviate the need for foreign borrowing, he said.
"We do not need to borrow from outside as our foreign exchange reserves stand at RM423.4 billion, sufficient to finance 9.7 months of retained imports and at four times the short-term external debt," he said.
Ahmad Husni added that the country received an estimated RM90 billion in investment last year, although the entry point projects under the ETP and projects under the National Key Results Areas are still at an early stage of development.
"Until September last year, we received RM75 billion in investment. Our target last year was RM83 billion, and we estimate that for the whole of 2011, we received over RM90 billion worth of investment," he said.
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