Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia continues to strengthen its position as a leading foreign investment destination even as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) expresses its commitment to increase investments in Malaysia, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil. Speaking at a press conference after today’s Cabinet meeting, Fahmi, also the unity government spokesperson, said this proves foreign investors’ confidence in the country’s strong economic prospects.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, had previously announced that several parties, including ADIA, intend to increase their investments. Following this, there have been reports about the additional investment in Malaysian company Yinson Holdings Bhd. Fahmi noted that this clearly shows Malaysia continues to be the preferred destination for foreign investments, including from entities like ADIA from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Media reports on January 14 indicated that Yinson Holdings Bhd subsidiary, Yinson Production Offshore Holdings Ltd (YPOHL), had secured an investment of US$1 billion (RM4.48 billion) from a consortium of international investment firms. Yinson stated that the investment comes with an option to increase it to US$1.5 billion within 24 months. The investment consortium includes Platinum Lily B 2024 RSC Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of ADIA, as well as a fund managed by the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), and the RRJ Group. ADIA is one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, with assets estimated to exceed US$1 trillion.
In a related development, Fahmi mentioned that Anwar is currently in the United Kingdom for an official visit and is scheduled to meet with his counterpart Keir Starmer. After that, Anwar will travel to Brussels on January 19 to meet Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and the European Commission president Antonio Costa. Finally, he will go to Davos for the World Economic Forum and is expected to return to Malaysia on January 23.
Fahmi also revealed that today’s Cabinet meeting discussed Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN chairmanship, with a foreign ministers’ retreat in Langkawi scheduled for January 18-19. This will be the first of more than 300 official meetings throughout the year. Bernama will be the official media coordinator, while RTM will serve as the official broadcaster for all ASEAN chairmanship programs. Fahmi expressed pride in hosting these events and emphasized Malaysia’s commitment to being a gracious host to all delegations throughout the year.