KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 (Bernama) — Malaysia’s economy rebounded 3.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021 (Q4 2021), driven by higher external demand, according to the Department of Statistics (DOSM).

Overall, Malaysia’s economic performance in 2021 revealed a recovery momentum with a growth of 3.1 per cent, compared to a decline of 5.6 per cent in 2020, it said.

“From the current economic standing, the performance in 2021 is still below its pre-pandemic level in 2019, however, the economic performance in the fourth quarter surpassed that of Q4 2019 by 0.01 per cent,” the department said in a statement on Malaysia’s economic performance for 2021 released today.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the economic performance in Q4 2021 on the supply side was primarily driven by the manufacturing, services and agriculture sectors, while on the demand side, all expenditure components experienced positive performance except for gross fixed capital formation.

In terms of sectoral performance, the manufacturing sector was the main contributor, growing strongly by 9.1 per cent (Q3 2021: minus 0.8 per cent) in the fourth quarter, led by electrical, electronic and optical products (16.4 per cent), followed by petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products (6.5 per cent).

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the overall manufacturing sector increased 8.3 per cent (Q3 2021: minus 1.8 per cent).

DOSM said the services sector rose by 3.2 per cent (Q3 2021: minus 4.9 per cent) in Q4; on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, this sector rebounded 7.0 per cent.

The performance was attributed to the private services sub-sector, which recorded an increase of 2.7 per cent (Q3 2021: minus 6.8 per cent), supported by the information and communication (6.8 per cent), transportation and storage (11.7 per cent) and finance and insurance (4.0 per cent) sub-sectors, it said.

In addition, wholesale and retail trade recorded a growth of 1.3 per cent while the real estate, business services and private education sub-sectors remained in a declining trend.

DOSM said the agriculture sector turned around 2.8 per cent (Q3 2021: minus 1.9 per cent) in the quarter, backed by the rebound in palm oil (4.8 per cent) and the increase in other agriculture (5.4 per cent) sub-sectors.

The agriculture sector recorded a marginal increase of 0.2 per cent on seasonally adjusted terms, mining and quarrying sector contracted 0.9 per cent (Q3 2021: minus 3.6 per cent) influenced by the crude oil and condensate sub-sector which declined 6.5 per cent (Q3 2021: minus 8.0 per cent) during the quarter.

Commenting on the demand side, Mohd Uzir said the private final consumption expenditure, which contributed 58 per cent to GDP in Q4, rebounded 3.7 per cent (Q3 2021: minus 4.2 per cent) attributed to the

higher consumption in food and non-alcoholic beverages (5.1 per cent), communication (12.6 per cent), and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (2.0 per cent).

“Furthermore, consumption of restaurants and hotels (3.8 per cent) and transport (2.0 per cent) grew in this quarter. On seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter terms, the overall performance of private final consumption expenditure posted an increase of 6.4 per cent,” he said.

Meanwhile, DOSM said the gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) or investment in fixed assets, decreased

by 3.3 per cent (Q3 2021: minus 10.8 per cent) in the quarter, influenced by the double-digit increase in machinery and equipment (16.4 per cent). On a quarterly basis, it registered an increase of 10.9 per cent.

The government’s final consumption expenditure moderated to 4.3 per cent (Q3 2021: 8.1 per cent), supported by spending on supplies and services attributed to the health-related expenditure in this quarter.

“The increase in consumption on health services was driven by the government’s effort in the COVID-19 booster roll-out program. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the government’s final consumption expenditure decreased 6.0 per cent (Q3 2021: 5.2 per cent),” it added.

Mohd Uzir said both exports and imports accelerated to 13.3 per cent (Q3 2021: 5.1 per cent) and 14.6 per cent (Q3 2021: 11.7 per cent) respectively following the higher trade of goods and services.

“Therefore, net exports rose by 2.6 per cent compared to a decrease of 37.5 per cent in the preceding quarter driven by higher external demand,” he said.