KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 — The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) has successfully concluded a one-day investment mission to Singapore, resulting in RM2.8 billion in committed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

The committed FDI was successfully secured through Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz's meeting with representatives from renowned global digital infrastructure company Equinix and a yet-to-be-named international food manufacturing company.

Equinix interconnects is an industry-leading organisations across a digital-first world. Through its global reach, the company helps organisations fast-track competitive advantage across digital enablers including cloud, networking, storage, computing and software.

Miti in a statement said Equinix currently has 52 data centres across 13 cities in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, and Singapore.

It said the company plans to leverage its expertise by opening network-dense data centres in Johor and Kuala Lumpur to provide an interconnected platform that offers access to many of the international and regional networks connecting Asia-Pacific.

In addition to that, the international food manufacturing company, which has an existing presence in Malaysia, plans to expand and diversify its product portfolio.

The statement said the company will set up a state-of-the-art facility with an advanced manufacturing line, powered by Industry 4.0 enablers such as Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics for its integrated food ingredients production.

Tengku Zafrul said that Miti is pleased that these companies have chosen Malaysia to either establish or expand their business.

He said the RM2.8-billion committed FDI is yet another endorsement of Malaysia's efforts in easing the investor’s journey, and in facilitating the realisation of their investments.

"This is an excellent start to the year, and Miti, together with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida), will be more strategic in attracting the right investments from the increased inflows into Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries.

"These investments must not only grow Malaysia’s economy but must also develop the country’s small and medium enterprises (SME) and create jobs for the people,” he said in the statement.

Singapore, recognising Malaysia’s rule of law, strategic regional location, trainable workforce, and vital role in regional and global supply chains, view Malaysia as a highly attractive investment destination.

Between January and September 2023, investment projects from Singapore valued at RM20.4 billion were approved, solidifying Singapore’s standing as the second-largest FDI source during this period.

The investment mission, attended by senior officials from Miti and the Mida, marks a pivotal milestone in Malaysia’s goal of becoming a hi-tech, global innovation hub.