10MP to offer foreign investors incentives

04 March 2010 , By Business Times

Malaysia will offer incentives to woo new and existing foreign investors under its coming 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP), a five-year economic plan.

Foreign direct investment in the manufacturing sector halved to RM22.1 billion last year as a global recession halted expansion plans at multinational companies worldwide.

"We are in the midst of attracting investors to our country," Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir told the media after visiting Samsung Group's factory in Seremban yesterday.

He said that Malaysia wanted more companies with "innovative, creative, high-income and high-yielding operations" to invest here.

The ministry is encouraging South Korea's Samsung, which has five plants in the country, to relocate their manufacturing operations that involve high technology here.

He was made to understand that Samsung was keen to invest substantially and move some of its high-technology operations away from South Korea in the near future.

"We'd like to have a piece of that pie," Mukhriz said.

Samsung Malaysia has invested more than RM5.25 billion since setting up its first manufacturing plant in the country in 1989.

The South Korean electronic giant views Malaysia as an important manufacturing base for a number of products like televisions, monitors, and microwave ovens for both the domestic and export markets.

Samsung is also among the top three foreign investors in Malaysia and its operations here is the second largest overseas investments, after China.

Mukhriz said his ministry, through the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (Mida), would continue to attract potential foreign investors from China, India and the Middle East.

Mida would also try to convince existing investors here to invest further in the country.

Existing investors who have reached full capacity could upgrade their plants, he said.

"It's an interesting area," said Mukhriz, adding that Malaysia no longer promoted itself as an investment destination for assembly-type operations and labour-intensive projects.