MALAYSIA’S economy is estimated to have grown 3.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 from a year earlier, official advance figures showed on Friday (Apr 19), driven by growth in the services sector.

The advance estimates released by the Statistics Department compared with annual growth of 3 per cent in the final quarter of 2023, when subdued exports weighed on growth.

Malaysia’s chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said all main sectors experienced positive growth in the first quarter of 2024, led by a 4.4 per cent year-on-year increase in the services sector. “(This was) supported by the wholesale and retail trade, transport and storage, and business services sub-sectors.”

The manufacturing sector rebounded to 1.9 per cent growth in the first quarter of this year from a 0.3 per cent contraction in the final quarter of 2023; the agriculture sector rose 1.3 per cent year on year in the same period, driven by oil palm and livestock production, Mohd Uzir said.

Malaysia’s exports fell 0.8 per cent in March from a year earlier, having also decreased by the same amount in February, separate data from the trade ministry showed.

The central bank last month forecast a 5 per cent rise in exports in 2024, recovering from an 8 per cent contraction last year. It held its key interest rate steady at 3 per cent at a policy meeting in March, saying it was at a level that was supportive to the economy.

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The government and central bank expect full-year economic growth of 4 to 5 per cent in 2024. Malaysia’s full-year 2023 growth was 3.7 per cent, a sharp drop from a 22-year high of 8.7 per cent in 2022.

Final first quarter GDP figures are expected to be released on May 17. REUTERS