PUTRAJAYA: The Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) has attracted RM220bil worth of investments in three years, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

He said the total committed investments are projected to contribute RM144bil to the Gross National Income (GNI), create 435,000 new jobs and generate a knock-on effect that will catalyse the larger universe of economic activities in the country.

"As we conclude 2013 and take stock of three years of the country's economic transformation, I am happy to announce that 195 projects have been launched under the National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) 2010," the prime minister said at the "ETP Turns 3" event here.

Najib, who is Finance Minister, said NKEAs have contributed to 1.3 million in new employments from 2010 to 2013 year-to-date.

At present, total employment is at 13.66 million. "It's heartening to see that 69 per cent of the total amount committed for this year has been realised. The NKEAs are on target to mirror their achievements of the previous two years," he said.

Najib said NKEAs continued to play a significant role in the national economy, contributing 68.3 per cent of the total GNI for the first nine months of this year, or RM474 billion.

He said the overall Key Performance Index (KPI) results for NKEAs are on track, with 89 per cent achieved on the average, while the Strategic Reform Initiatives (STIs) recorded 85 per cent of the KPI achieved.

"This demonstrates that both projects and initiatives are tracking well and I am confident of meeting our targets this year," he said.

Despite the global outlook continues to be uncertain as developed markets grapple with their challenges, Najib said Malaysia is targeted to achieve between five and 5.5 per cent gross domestic product next year, with private investments expected to grow 12.7 per cent to RM153bil.

"As of the third quarter this year, the GDP recorded a five per cent increase year-on-year, outstripping forecasts and it is projected to hit 4.5 to five per cent by year-end," he said, adding that Malaysia's real GDP grew from RM676.7bil in 2010 to RM751.5bil last year, a significant increase of 11 per cent.

To become the centre for global operations, services and trading, Najib said Malaysia has also set the sight on attracting 13 multinationals to base their operations in Kuala Lumpur next year.

Six international trading multinationals, with a projected minimum of total turnover of US$600 million will potentially establish their trading operations in the country, he said.

"In the financial markets, we are set to see an increased value in new listings, with a targeted market capitalization of RM18 billion," he said.

Najib said the government has strengthened revenue to sustainably administer socio-economic programmes geared towards narrowing income disparity.

"These results as you can see are an increase in government revenue of 14 per cent for the period between 2010 and 2012, growing from RM160bil to RM207bil. We project to hit RM220bil in revenue this year," he said. - Bernama

Najib said Malaysia has tripled the annual growth rate of private investments since the inception of the ETP.

"The baseline average of five per cent a year from 2008 to 2010 has been lifted to three-fold to 16 per cent for the period of 2010 to 2012. This year, private investment is forecast to grow at 16.2 per cent, hitting RM135.8 billion," he added.

By thestar.com.my

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