KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — Malaysia will be able to maintain its competitiveness as an attractive foreign direct investments (FDIs) destination in the region through better tax policies, including environment-friendly regulations for all investors, said an economist.
Malaysia University of Science Technology professor and dean Prof Dr Geoffrey Williams said better tax policies would make the environment easier to do business and would indirectly encourage more companies to set up various assets and retain (them) in Malaysia.
“We often talk about investment approvals and we have seen that investment approvals have been increasing; that is a good thing. It shows that Malaysia is (able to) interest international investors, and that's definitely good,” he said at the “RAM Forum: Emerging Risks — How can Malaysia Steer Ahead?” organised by RAM Rating Services Bhd today.
While there is a need to regulate international financial flows due to security reasons, a country needs minimum regulations to attract more investors around the globe, he said.
Furthermore, Williams said the government should also consider encouraging private sector companies to play a bigger role to rapidly grow the country’s industrial development.
Apart from government-linked companies and government-linked investment companies, he said the industrial development environment will be more agile and competitive with a private sector presence.
Malaysia registered RM132.6 billion in investments, or about 60 per cent of the country’s investment target, in the first half of this year.
Its net inflow of FDIs peaked at RM74.6 billion in 2022 against 2021’s RM50.4 billion, according to the Statistics Department of Malaysia.
— Bernama
