INVESTKL Corp has successfully attracted RM1.68 billion worth of investments in the first half of 2022 (1H22), creating 1,919 high-skilled executive job opportunities.
InvestKL CEO Muhammad Azmi Zulkifli said the stellar performance is an encouragement for the agency to continue securing more investments, taking advantage of new opportunities available from the free trade agreements Malaysia has become a part of.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership just came into force earlier this year, while Malaysia seeks to ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2022.
Muhammad Azmi Zulkifli
“These major trade deals hold excellent promises as they will make Malaysia more attractive for companies seeking to diversify their supply chains and widen market access for goods and services, as well as digital products,” Muhammad Azmi said in a statement yesterday.
Greater Kuala Lumpur (KL) offers investors a robust digital and innovation ecosystem, access to a diverse talent pool ready for future industries and supportive government policies.
Six well-known multinational corporations from the US, UK, China and Australia have established their presence in Greater KL.
These companies cover various industries such as food, technology, software development and pharmaceutical.
Last year, InvestKL, an agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, secured RM2.46 billion of investments through 13 global services hubs.
InvestKL’s Greater KL Live Lab (GKL Live Lab) which was launched last year has signed up two companies, out of its three targeted for this year.
Under the initiative, foreign companies can bring their ideas to life while collaborating with local players to create high-value and future-ready jobs, as well as deepen the local ecosystem with sophisticated and complex activities.
Since 2021, GKL Live Lab has secured key projects covering edutech, healthtech, dronetech, data solutions and marketingtech.
Muhammad Azmi said Malaysia needs to nurture more professionals such as big data engineers, cyber security experts and accountants to meet growing investors’ demand moving forward.
In addition, he said that greater emphasis must also be given to further enhancing the readiness of the country’s ecosystem and infrastructure in embracing sustainable development.
“We must keep ourselves at the forefront of environmental, social and corporate governance while capturing emerging opportunities in the shift towards a greener planet.
“Renewable energy offers huge potential and Malaysia needs to accelerate on this front to remain competitive,” Muhammad Azmi said. — TMR