Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the country's private investment may hit the targeted 83 billion ringgit (27.4 billion U.S. dollars) this year.
This is because the potential private investment is estimated at 127 billion ringgit (41.9 billion U.S. dollars) in 2011, said Najib when announcing nine entry point projects under the Malaysian Economic Transformation Program (ETP) in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
Najib, also Malaysian Finance Minister, said that from 2011 to 2015, Malaysia on average wanted to attract 115 billion ringgit ( 37.95 billion U.S. dollars) worth of investment every year.
The target for the first year, which is 2011, was 83 billion ringgit (27.4 billion U.S. dollars), said Najib.
According to Najib, of the 5,835 enterprises involved in a survey conducted by several government agencies in the fourth quarter of 2010, 30 percent of them was committed to invest a total of 50.6 billion ringgit (16.7 billion U.S. dollars).
Najib said Malaysia could offer a healthy ecosystem for investors, and this would encourage the private sector, both local and foreign, to invest in the country.
The Malaysian government has aimed to transform the country into a high-income developed nation by 2020 by implementing a number of initiatives, including the ETP.
Per capita income of Malaysians is expected to be lifted from the 7,000 U.S. dollars to 15,000 U.S. dollars.
As foreign direct investment inflow has been decreasing, the Malaysian government has focused more on creating an conducive environment for the private sector to play their role in driving the country's economy forward./.