Malaysia Needs Broad Reforms to Boost Investment Credentials to Attract FDI: World Bank

According to a report by the Government of Malaysia, foreign direct investments (FDI) into Malaysia saw a drop of 56% to USD 3.4 billion in 2020 owing to COVID-19-related negative impacts on the country’s trade-reliant economy. However, a January 2021 report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, put the decline in FDI into Malaysia at 68% in 2020, the worst figure in South-east Asia.

Why it matters?

Malaysia risks lagging regional peers amid intense competition for FDI. The World Bank said that the country was within “striking distance” of becoming a high-income nation. However, its “escape velocity” from middle-income status is slower than that of other countries that have achieved high-income stat...