PM: Big jump in FDI growth

By Lester Kong, The Star

PUTRAJAYA: Foreign direct investment (FDI) into Malaysia jumped to RM9bil in 2010 from RM1.4bil in 2009, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“I am confident we will be able to ensure a very healthy growth in FDI. But don’t forget, it’s not only about FDI, it’s also about domestic investment.

“Our development plans involves 73% domestic investments,” he told a press conference here after chairing the 11th National Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council Meeting Friday.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, admitted however that brain drain remained one of the major obstacles to Malaysia achieving high income developed status by 2020.

“We have identified (brain drain) as one of the problems that we need to find solutions to. That’s why we set up Talent Corp,” he said.

He said one of the measures taken by the Government was announcing a flat five-year 15% income tax rate for professionals returning to work in Malaysia.

“It (brain-drain) is not something that is happening now. It is a problem that has been happening for some time. But we are taking very concrete measures to address this,” he added.

Najib was responding to the World Bank‘s report that “accelerating brain drain” posed the greatest threat to Malaysia’s plans to achieve developed status in 2020, including attracting foreign investments.

The Prime Minister refuted the World Bank report’s chief author and senior economist Philip Schellekens’ claim that a lack of investments and brain-drain were due also to race-based policies in favour of Malays.