KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 — RM2.75 billion in foreign investment has been recorded by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS) through the Film in Malaysia Incentive (FIMI) from 2013 to last year, said Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.
She said this has created 31,050 jobs, most of which benefited skilled local technical and vocational education and training (TVET) workers, including technical crews, animators, post-production staff and production support personnel.
She added that in the same period, the United States, China, India and Australia were the four main sources of foreign investment for filming in Malaysia.
“This includes the animated film Transformer Cyber World last year, two reality programmes — Survival Series Europe (2025) and Tempting Fortune (2025) — as well as the Lord of the Flies series this year,” she said during the oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Teo was responding to a question from Datuk Wan Saifulruddin Wan Jan (PN-Tasek Gelugor) on the amount of foreign investment drawn through FIMI and the government’s measures to ensure local creative content can penetrate global streaming platforms.
Teo said FINAS continues to undertake efforts to elevate the national film industry globally, including with its active participation in international film markets and festivals.
She added that FINAS is also reviewing ways to improve FIMI requirements for foreign production companies, including increasing the use of local crew.
Replying to a supplementary question from Syerleena Abdul Rashid (Harapan-Bukit Bendera) on the achievements of Malaysian films in terms of box office records, Teo said that since 2023, local films have seen an increase in box office earnings.
“In 2023, the box office revenue for local films was RM180.7 million, before rising to RM244 million last year.
“Our films have also received good reception overseas, including Abang Adik, Mechamato and Ejen Ali The Movie 2,” Teo added.
