Trade, investment targets in 2024 achievable, says Zafrul

The Star

Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the government is optimistic that the trade and investment targets set for this year are achievable despite the Ringgit’s current depreciation versus the US dollar, as many other major fundamentals remain attractive and appealing to global investors.  Read more at http://tinyurl.com/4awr8vx3  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00 How will the RM100,000 impact our overall performance?

00:06 Investment and trade.

00:08 We have targeted for this year.

00:10 So, is there any incentive to help boost the RM100,000?

00:13 So, in terms of RM100,000, it has been explained by the Honourable Minister of Finance and the new Governor of the Bank of Indonesia.

00:21 In terms of trade and investment, we can see that this year I am more optimistic.

00:31 If I just mentioned earlier in terms of trade, we are also looking for an increase.

00:37 This will help our economic growth.

00:40 Indeed, the government's target is between 4% and 5% in terms of GDP.

00:47 There is a correlation between GDP and the strength of the RM100,000.

00:54 But for the same purpose, we have to look at the global economic situation.

00:59 And for the RM100,000, in terms of financial markets, we also have to look at the interest rate in other countries, especially in developed countries.

01:14 And in Malaysia, especially, what is the FOMC's decision?

01:22 For example, in March, in the United States, they will continue to maintain the interest rate.

01:29 At the moment, the interest rate in the United States is between 5.25% to 5.5%.

01:36 And if the US economy shows that the interest rate can be lowered, this will strengthen our RM100,000.

01:46 But with the lower RM100,000 right now, are you saying that investors will actively come to Malaysia?

01:51 It looks like it. In terms of our RM100,000 being more competitive, the investment will increase a little because they see the cost is lower.

02:02 But for investors, that is not the main reason. They are not playing in the stock market or the financial market.

02:09 Investors have a horizon of 10 to 20 years. So they look at the very long term of the economy.

02:18 Because they are not a major factor. It is a factor. They want to see the stability of the RM100,000.

02:26 And I think we are within the stability range. And by the time they approve the investment, it will take 6 months to 1 year to decide.

02:35 And then to build the factory, it will take 2 years. So in all, it will take about 3 years.

02:40 So they don't see the fluctuation so much.

02:44 Basically, you are optimistic that all the targets for this year will be achieved regardless of the market?

02:48 I will make an announcement on the details of the investment on Friday next week.

02:55 But maybe I can give a little teaser.

02:59 Because before this, our target was only one absolute amount and look at the number of projects that will come to Malaysia.

03:08 But I think going forward, we have to change our mindset.

03:11 Because investment is important in terms of investment for economic growth.

03:17 At the moment, the percentage of investment in KDNK is about 22%.

03:24 We have to increase this. And the growth of the economy is about 4-5% this year.

03:31 To ensure that investment is one of the key engines of growth, we have to target the increase of GDP by 2 times.

03:39 If our target is 4-5% this year, we should focus on increasing investment by 10%.

03:45 So that the percentage of investment in terms of KDNK will continue to increase and this will further boost the economy.

03:55 We cannot just depend on consumption and government spending.

03:59 Alright.

04:00 Thank you.

04:01 [END]

Category

Transcript

Recommended