Foreign direct investment into Malaysia slumped to MYR 4.4 billion in the second quarter of 2019 from MYR 21.7 billion in the previous period. FDI flows were mainly channeled to the services sector which amounted MYR 3.3 billion (or 74.9 percent of total FDI), particularly in real estate activities, followed by manufacturing (46.5 percent). The FDI were mainly from Hong Kong, the US and Ireland. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s direct investment abroad (DIA) surged to MYR 12.6 billion as compared to MYR 5.5 billion in preceding quarter. The main destinations of DIA were the Netherlands, the UK and Cayman Islands. Foreign Direct Investment in Malaysia averaged 13485.06 MYR Million from 2008 until 2016, reaching an all time high of 37325.00 MYR Million in the fourth quarter of 2011 and a record low of 2452.00 MYR Million in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Foreign Direct Investment in Malaysia is expected to be 9800.00 MYR Million by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Foreign Direct Investment in Malaysia to stand at 12000.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Malaysia Foreign Direct Investment is projected to trend around 15900.00 MYR Million in 2020, according to our econometric models.