Malaysia's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) has attracted 220 billion RM (roughly 70 billion USD) worth of investments in three years, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has said.

The 220 billion RM total committed investments are projected to contribute 144 billion RM 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, Bernama news agency quoted the Prime Minister as saying.

During the three years, 195 projects have been launched under the National Key Economic Areas 2010 (NKEAs), the PM said at the "ETP in the Third Year of Implementation" event in Putrajaya on December 16.

He said with the introduction of the ETP in Sept. 2010, the nation had seen a steady increase in the GNI per capita between 2009 and 2012 which has increased from 6,700 USD in 2009 to 9,928 USD in 2012. The country is on track to achieve high-income nation status by 2020 with per capita income at 15,000 USD.

The NKEAs, he said, continue to play a significant role in the national economy, contributing 68.3 percent of total GNI for the first nine months of this year, or 474billion RM.

The NKEAs have also contributed to employment, with 1.3 million in new employments recorded from 2010 to 2013 year-to-date.

Government revenue increased 14 percent for the period of 2010 to 2012, growing from 160 billion RM in 2010 to 207 billion RM in 2012, which is projected to hit 220 billion RM this year.

On the country's growth, Najib said, despite the global outlook continues to be uncertain as developed markets grapple with their challenges, Malaysia is targeted to achieve between five and 5.5 percent gross domestic product next year, with private investments expected to grow 12.7 percent to 153 billion RM.

He noted, for 2014 the pipeline will remain exciting as Malaysia gains traction as a centre for global operations, services and trading.

Malaysia has set the sight on attracting 13 large multinationals to base their operations in Kuala Lumpur in Kuala Lumpur next year. Six international trading companies, with a projected minimum of total turnover of 600 million USD, will potentially establish their trading operations in the country.-VNA