(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) Malaysia will remain an open economy with its liberal investment policies providing the impetus for it to emerge as a developed economy within the next five years, Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed said.
Besides the many areas Malaysia has liberalized over the years, the services sector would be pivotal in generating growth for the economy which was poised to be major investment destination in East Asia.
"Malaysia has worked towards this (open economy) and will continue to do so," Bernama news agency quoted him as saying at the first East Asia Investment Forum during the Ministerial Roundtable along with the Trade Secretary of Philippines Gregory Domingo.
For Malaysia, the services sector is the key driver of growth, which is expected to expand by 6.9 per cent per annum, increasing its share to the Gross Domestic Product from 53.8 per cent in 2015 to 56.5 per cent in 2020.
"The services sector is important. Thus far, efforts have improved investor sentiment," he said, adding that for investors to continuously invest in a country, they need a clear sense of direction and concrete plans.
"Investors want to see a liberal environment in policies, they want to know where we are going and where ASEAN is going," he said.
The Roundtable entitled "Facilitating Investment Across Borders", is aimed at understanding the different initiatives and efforts by ASEAN, Malaysia, the Philippines and China to improve and further liberalize investment regimes.
Mustapa said the forum played a very significant role in addressing issues in place for engagement with communities in East Asia with policy makers involved in the ASEAN negotiations.
On other news the "RHB" Research Institute expects private investment in Malaysia to grow at a slower pace of six per cent year-on-year in the second half of 2015 (2H15), from 7.5 per cent in 1H15.
In a statement today, RHB Research said this was due to the Goods and Services Tax implementation, introduction of real property gains tax and lower oil prices.
"The weakness in the ringgit will also likely prompt some investors to delay their investments as well.
"We also expect private investment to slow down to 6.8 per cent for the whole year from the 11 per cent growth achieved in 2014," it said.
The research house investment said growth, however, would continue to be supported by the construction of mega infrastructure projects such as the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT).
"The construction of MRT Line 2 linking Bandar Utama, Shah Alam and Klang and the Pan-Borneo Highway project will provide impetus for private investments in the coming years.
"Flood-related rebuilding activities in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia will also support construction-related sectors," it said.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.