Dr M: Don’t expect much FDI this time
Monday August 2, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia cannot expect much foreign direct investment (FDI) unlike before, said former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He said this was because currently, many countries and foreign businessmen did not have the funds to invest in other countries,
Dr Mahathir said at the same time, these countries and foreign businessmen also wanted to invest in their own countries due to the high level of unemployment there.
“So, we cannot expect much foreign direct investment today,” he told reporters when asked to comment on the World Investment Report 2010 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Develop-ment.
According to the report, the FDI inflow to Malaysia had dropped 81% from RM23.47bil (US$7.381bil) in 2008, to RM4.43bil (US$1.381bil) last year, trailing behind countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.
In May, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed had announ-ced that investments in the country for the first quarter of this year amounted to only RM5.2bil, mainly from Singapore, Taiwan and Japan.
Dr Mahathir was speaking to reporters after marking the fourth anniversary celebrations of his bakery The Loaf at its fourth outlet at the IOI Boulevard in Puchong near here yesterday.
Earlier in his speech, Dr Mahathir, who is also chairman of The Loaf, said the company intended to set up franchises at the right time and would be opening its fifth outlet in Bangsar by the end of the year. — Bernama
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