KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s economy expanded by 4.3 per cent compared to a year ago, ending five consecutive quarters of decelerating growth, the country’s central bank announced on Friday (Nov 11).
In a briefing for the media, Bank Negara said that growth in major economic sectors was “in line with domestic demand”. Sectors that expanded during the quarter included services (6.1 per cent) manufacturing (4.2 per cent), mining (3.6 per cent) and construction (7.9 per cent). However, the agricultural sector shrunk significantly by 5.9 per cent.
Domestic demand excluding stocks grew by 4.7 per cent in the third quarter compared to the same period a year ago. Net exports of goods and services also increased by 5.9 per cent, with a 1.3 per cent decrease in exports offset by a larger 2.3 per cent fall in imports during the quarter.
Private sector expenditure grew 6 per cent, with private consumption increasing by 6.4 per cent and private investment by 4.7 per cent.
The higher consumption in the private sector was supported by continued wage and employment growth, and driven mainly by capital spending in the services and manufacturing sectors, according to the central bank.
In comparison, public sector expenditure edged up only slightly by 0.3 per cent, with a 3.1 per cent increase in public sector consumption negated by a 3.8 per cent plunge in public sector investment.
Stock prices in the quarter fell by 1.6 per cent year-on-year.
