MALAYSIA will easily exceed the RM10-billion mark in new investments in the electrical and electronics (E&E) sector under the National Key Economic Areas (NKEA) by year-end, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said.
Mustapa said between January and July alone, the country recorded RM8.4 billion in investments via 57 approved projects, exceeding 2014’s target of RM5.1 billion.
By comparison, in 2013, the NKEA E&E sector registered 118 approved projects, with investments totalling RM9.8 billion, he said at a media briefing, here, yesterday.
Mustapa said products in the E&E sector were the biggest contributor to Malaysia’s exports between January and August, amounting to RM165.5 billion, or 32.9 per cent, of total exports.
As a result, the 2,200 E&E-related companies, which employ 500,000 people in Malaysia, were able to account for RM47.4 billion of the country’s gross national income (GNI) and six per cent of the gross domestic products, making the country among the five largest exporters of semiconductor devices in the world.
The major countries Malaysia exports its E&E manufactured products to are China (17 per cent of Malaysia’s E&E exports), Singapore (15 per cent) and the United States (13.8 per cent).
Mustapa said the government has set itself a target of increasing E&E sector’s GNI contribution to RM90 billion by 2020 as well as creating 157,000 new jobs.
