Secondly, Malaysia offers exposure to the AI theme through the increasing contribution of data centres to the economy. Data centre investment doubled in 2025 to RM14.1 billion (contributing nearly 0.5pp to GDP growth) and accounted for 51% of total net FDI inflows in 2024, up from 4% just two years earlier.
Goldman Sachs has upgraded Malaysia to market weight and lifts KLCI target to 1,880. In a report dated Jan 29, Goldman points out that economic growth in 2025 exceeded the government’s forecast range (4.9% vs. 4.0–4.8%) and 2026 growth appears robust at 4.5%.
Domestic demand is supported by household cash disbursements and a civil servant wage hike, and the external outlook is positive, driven by electronics demand. This helped the Malaysian ringgit perform the best (vs USD) among the Asian regional currencies in 2025 and in 2026 so far as well (+4% ytd).
