Johor tops approved investments in 2025 with RM110bil

2026-03-06 - 06:33

Sim Tze Tzin said the transformative momentum of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone was one of the key factors for Johor’s strong investment performance. (EPA Images pic) KUALA LUMPUR: Johor recorded the highest amount of approved investments among all states in 2025, says deputy investment, trade and industry minister Sim Tze Tzin. “Johor leads all states with RM110 billion, a performance that speaks for both the inherent strength of its industrial base and the transformative momentum of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone,” Sim said at the Malaysian Investment Development Authority’s annual press conference here today. He said Selangor was second with RM83.9 billion in investments, followed by Kuala Lumpur (RM63.3 billion), Penang (RM32.9 billion) and Kedah (RM27.8 billion). Sim also said Singapore was Malaysia’s largest foreign investor, adding that the composition of Malaysia’s foreign investments reflected the nation’s appeal to investors from both eastern and western economies. “Singapore (RM58.3 billion) and China (RM58 billion) emerged as equal partners at the top,” he said. The US followed with RM15.1 billion, while Japan and Hong Kong rounded out the top five sources of foreign investment. He said the services sector remained the main driver of Malaysia’s investment growth with RM281.3 billion in approved investments across over 7,000 projects. They are expected to generate more than 130,000 new jobs for Malaysians. Earlier today, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that Malaysia recorded a historic RM426.7 billion in approved investments last year, an 11% increase from 2024. Anwar said the investments involved 8,390 projects, which were expected to create 244,902 job opportunities for Malaysians. Domestic investments remained strong at RM219.6 billion, accounting for about 51.5% of the total, while foreign investments rose by 20.9% to RM207.1 billion, he said.