The Malaysian economy grew 3.3% year-on-year in Q3, compared to 2.9% growth in Q3 last year.

Asian economies are also forecast to grow by 4.6% this year, with a likely 4.2% growth rate in 2024, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the growth was bolstered by domestic demand in the services and construction sectors.  

“In terms of quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted GDP, it increased by 2.6% (Q2: 1.5%) in this quarter,” he said in a statement. 

Furthermore, the country’s current account balance remained in surplus in Q3, at RM9.14 billion compared to RM19 billion in Q3 last year, supported by the net exports of goods. 

“Foreign direct investment (FDI) also recorded a lower net inflow of RM7.2 billion against RM9.6 billion for the same quarter last year. Adding to this, direct investment abroad (DIA) recorded a net outflow of RM13.4 billion in Q323 (Q223: RM8 billion),” Mohd Uzir continued.

In addition, Malaysia’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) registered a marginal decline of 0.04% in Q3, whilst the Services Volume Index increased 4.4% to 146.7 points, The Malaysian Reserve reports.

Also, between July and September, the services sector’s revenue grew 7.6% year-on-year to RM584 billion, whilst the number of employed people rose by 0.6% to 16.25 million. 

“Based on these economic indicators developments, Malaysia’s economy is expected to expand at a slower pace in the near future, as indicated by the Leading Index (LI), which showed better movement for three consecutive months to negative 0.3% by recording 109.3 points in September 2023 compared to negative 0.5% in the previous month,” Mohd Uzir said. 

“Despite remaining below the 100 points trends in the smoothed long-term analysis for September 2023, LI suggests that Malaysia’s economy is poised for moderate growth in the near future, supported by an increase in investment spending, favourable labour market conditions and encouraging local demand,” he added.