Australian investors help fuel investment growth in Malaysia

Australian investors have helped Malaysia set a new foreign investment record by doubling direct investments last year to more than $700 million.

Australia-Malaysia Business Council (AMBC) national president Wee Keat Chan said this confirmed Malaysia was growing in importance for Australian investors, fuelled by a positive economic outlook for the next two years.

“This positive economic outlook, together with Malaysia’s pro business and investment framework, has provided a very strong foundation for the Malaysian economy — and this in turn is attracting Australian investors and businesses in growing numbers to Malaysia,” he said.

According to AMBC, additional factors contributing to the region’s success include the strength of the global economy combined with domestic growth through increased public investment.

“The Malaysian Government actively promotes foreign direct investment in the high-tech and export-oriented sectors,” Chan said.

“New ventures in the manufacturing sector can be 100 per cent foreign owned, the financial sector is being liberalised and capital controls on overseas investments have been relaxed.”

Among the Australian businesses to have invested in Malaysia recently is ANZ, which agreed to spend $833 million to purchase a 24.9 per cent stake in AMMB Holdings, a leading bank that offers retail, commercial, investment and Islamic banking.

Macquarie Global Property Advisers, a private equity real estate fund management company in which Macquarie Bank has a 49 per cent stake, has also shown its support for Malaysia by entering into its real estate sector.

“Malaysia’s unique geographical position as the gateway to Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific region, its growing base of affluent consumers and its economic innovation continues to attract Australian businesses and investment in ever-growing numbers,” Chan said.