The National Committee on Investment (NCI) has given approval to five approved manufacturing and services projects worth RM4.6 billion located in Penang, Kedah and Pahang.

The approval on Jan 30 was for investments in the electrical and electronics, machinery and equipment as well as automotive industries with 97.3 percent of the investments from Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States (US).

The remaining approved investment was from a Malaysian Integrated Circuit (IC) Design company, according to the NCI in a statement today.

It said this high value-added project involves IC design for application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) products for Artificial Intelligence (AI) deep learning and high-performance computing which upon realisation will create over 6,000 job opportunities for the country.

The NCI is co-chaired by the International Trade and Industry Minister (Miti) Darell Leiking and Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

“Foreign investors remain active in Malaysia’s manufacturing and services sectors. The investment spending, private consumption and trade will keep the nation’s growth on track.

“To enhance the attractiveness of Malaysia as a preferred investment destination, Miti and all its agencies will continue to be proactive to accommodate the needs of stakeholders in creating sustainable prosperity for the rakyat,” said Darell in the statement.

Malaysia’s 2019 investment performance in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors will be announced on March 3 at the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida headquarters, he added.

- Bernama