Malaysia likely to see $1.8bn in investments

Several multinational companies have agreed in principle to invest a total of 5.5 billion ringgit (US$1.8 billion) over several years, mostly on Malaysia's resurgent oil and gas (O&G) industry.

While the investment amount is just a ballpark figure, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said several companies had agreed in principle to invest in various industries.

These meetings were held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum with the heads and senior management of the multinational companies.

"I met with Itochu Corp which has expressed interest in partnering with Petronas to further develop the petrochemical industry in the Refinery & Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in Pengerang," he said.