KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia remained an attractive destination for foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the first five months this year despite competition from others.

“Of the RM25.5bil investments in the manufacturing sector between January and May this year, 50.2%, or RM12.8bil, were foreign investments,” International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said on Friday.

She said at the launch of the Malaysia International Trade and Industry Report 2006 on Friday that the investments in 379 manufacturing projects comprised 244 new projects and 135 expansion and diversification projects.

Most of the projects approved were in the petroleum products and electronics industries.

Of the total investments approved, RM9.4bil, or 36.9%, were for new projects and the rest for expansion and diversification.

Most of the FDIs in the first five months came from the Netherlands, Japan, Singapore, the United States and Cayman Islands.

“Going forward, Malaysia will have to compete with other emerging economies for a share of the global FDI inflows.

“We have to work towards getting the right companies to invest here and get the companies which are already here to move up to higher levels by making new investments to expand or diversify their operations,” Rafidah said.

The Government, she said, would continue with efforts to improve the investment environment to ensure that Malaysia remained competitive.

“The focus in 2007 will be on specific measures to ensure that the strategies identified under the Ninth Malaysia Plan and the Third Industrial Masterplan are effectively implemented,” Rafidah said, adding that policy initiatives and measures would be further strengthened to enhance the competitiveness of the manufacturing and services sectors.