PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has chaired the first National Investment Council (NIC) Meeting since its announcement at the tabling of 2023 Budget on 24th February 2023.
The permanent member of the Council consists of Minister of Finance, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Minister of Economy, Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia and Chief Secretary of the Treasury, Ministry of Finance.
Anwar said, NIC plays its role as the highest executive body that will plan the agenda relating to investment and ensures the governance of the national investment is being empowered.
“The NIC is also responsible to address issues and main challenges in the implementation of investment projects especially involving strategic investments with high impact besides ensuring the smoothness of the implementation of the projects.
“This move is very important to ensure the government’s whole approach in the national investment promotion is more systematic, efficient and structured. This is also to ensure Malaysia will optimise the existing sources to avoid overlapping of responsibilities between the Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) and guarantees the IPA delivery services will be more effective,” Anwar said in a statement.
The statement added, the meeting also discussed on the monitoring of investment projects specifically on the investment’s potential results via the Trade Promotion Mission and Investment led by the Prime Minister and Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry.
Anwar explained that the investment approved in various economic sectors in the first quarter in 2023 was RM71.4 billion, a rise of 59.7 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2022 that was RM44.7 billion and this includes the provision of 24,000 jobs for the Malaysians.
Meanwhile,, the NIC is scheduled to meet at least four times a year with the hope that every initiative and investment programme could be monitored and its effectiveness evaluated.
“The government is committed to ensure every investment that has been approved will be implemented and gives positive impacts to the national economic growth,” Anwar said. – Malaysia World News
