KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia drew RM153.2 billion worth of investments in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors for the first nine months of 2015. The total which came in lower than last year's RM180 billion in the same period last year was mainly due to a big decline in the approvals for investments in the real estate sector.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the real estate sector investments dipped from RM57.9 billion in the period January-September 2014 to RM 21.0 billion this year, consistent with the softening in the property market. Approvals in the other sectors however, especially manufacturing, remained robust.

"This indicates that investor confidence in Malaysia remains high despite the decline in global FDI inflows and the challenging global economic environment," he said. The investments approved were in 3,727 projects and are expected to generate 139,720 job opportunities for Malaysians. Domestic investments of RM124.9 billion accounted for 82 per cent of investments, with foreign investments making up the rest.

The services sector accounted for the largest share of the total investments, contributing 54.0 per cent or RM82.7 billion, followed by the manufacturing sector with investments of RM67.7 billion or 44.2 per cent, and the primary sector with approved investments of RM2.8 billion or 1.8 per cent.