Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - Malaysia recorded investments totalling 150.8 billion RM in in thefirst nine months of 2016, a slight drop from 156.6 billion RM in the sameperiod last year

Domestic investments accounted for 74.8 percent of the total investments at 112.8billion RM, while the rest came from foreign investors, particularly those fromthe Netherlands, China, the UK, Singapore and Japan, according to Malaysia’snews agency Bernama.

International Trade andIndustry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed was quoted as saying that theoverall investment performance for the whole of 2016 could be sustained,despite the challenging global environment.

"The services sector attracted the largest portion of approvedinvestments, contributing 71.9 percent or 108.4 billion RM, followed by themanufacturing sector with investments of 40.7 billion RM or 27 percent, and theprimary sector with approved investments of 1.7 billion RM or 1.1 percent,"he said.

The minister said for the January-September 2016 period, the value ofinvestments in the services sector increased 26.2 percent from thecorresponding period last year.

The minister said while Malaysia is seeking greater market access throughbilateral and multilateral trade agreements, the government places emphasis onprotecting the interest of the country's economy and the well-being of thepeople.

Earlier, the central bank of Malaysia (Negara) said the country’s economy inthe third quarter of this year continued to grow at a faster speed thatexpected.  Malaysia’s GDP increased 4.3percent in the quarter, higher than the forecast of 4 percent made byBloomberg./.