Kuala Lumpur, Sep 4 (IANS): Malaysia's approved investments rose 18 per cent year on year to 160 billion ringgit (37 billion US dollars) across the services, manufacturing, and primary sectors from January to June, official data showed Wednesday.

The Malaysian Investment Development Authority said in a statement that the growth in investment is backed by 2,948 investment projects, which is expected to create a significant 79,187 new job opportunities.

According to the statement, domestic investments accounted for 53.4 per cent or 85.4 billion ringgit of the total approved investments, up 19.1 per cent year on year in the first half, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, foreign investments contributed 46.6 per cent, or 74.6 billion ringgit, rising 16.7 per cent year on year.

Austria led the approved investments with 30.1 billion ringgit, followed by Singapore (16.5 billion ringgit), China (9.8 billion ringgit), and the Netherlands (4 billion ringgit).

The services sector accounted for 97.2 billion ringgit or 60.7 per cent of the total approvals in the first half.

Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector rose 34.1 per cent year on year to 60.1 billion ringgit in the first half. The electrical and electronics (E&E) is the major industry underpinning the sector's growth with approved investments of 36.9 billion ringgit.

The primary sector, on the other hand, recorded 2.7 billion ringgit in approved investments, constituting 1.7 per cent of the total approvals.

"ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is forecast to grow at 4.6 per cent in 2024 and 4.7 per cent in 2025 on solid improvement in both domestic and external demand, and Malaysia is determined to capture this growth," said Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, minister of investment, trade and industry.