Malaysia emerged as the fifth most popular destination for foreign direct investments (FDIs) in Asia last year, ranked after China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia, local media reported Friday.

According to the figures that released by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) this week, the country attracted 11.97 billion U.S. dollars, a 31.5 percent increase from 2010.

Hafiz Mirza, UNCTAD investment and enterprises division chief, said Malaysia had been very successful in attracting investment through its policies, and was among the few countries that exceeded UNCTAD's expectations.

In 2009, FDI inflows to Malaysia were a mere 1.45 billion U.S. dollars, a sharp downfall compared with 7.17 billion U.S. dollars in 2008.

"If I am an investor, Malaysia to me is a place of strength... an excellent place to be," Hafiz was quoted as saying by the New Strait Times on Friday.

Malaysia is on track to exceed last year's FDI inflow despite the current challenging global environment, said International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed.

"We know it's tough, but on the basis of what we have been receiving in terms of applications, esquires and approvals so far, interest continues to be strong," he said.

Hafiz said the only shortcoming for Malaysia in attracting FDI would be the size of its relatively small local economy.

"From the broader perspective, Malaysia is strong in manufacturing and so the question next is whether it should expand beyond that, like going into research and development," he said.

Xinhua