Malaysia’s current account balance continued to record a surplus of RM15.2 billion in the final quarter of 2021, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the current account surplus in the fourth quarter of 2021 (4Q21) was driven by exceptionally high net exports of goods with a double-digit growth in prices of commodities.
The goods account registered net exports of RM51.8 billion, the highest since the 3Q08 at RM50.9 billion.
Exports of goods with a contribution of 92% to overall Malaysia’s exports grew at a faster rate to log RM271.3 billion from RM236.6 billion in the previous quarter.
“The increment of 14.7% was a result of higher exports of electrical and electronics, palm oil and chemicals based products, predominantly to China, Singapore and the US,” Mohd Uzir said in a statement on Friday (Feb 11).
Concurrently, imports of goods went up 12.3% quarter-on-quarter to record RM219.5 billion. In this quarter, intermediate, capital and consumption goods were imported mainly from China, Singapore and Taiwan, he added.
Besides the goods account, the current account surplus in 4Q21 was also backed by a lower deficit in the secondary income account at RM1.4 billion from a RM3.1 billion deficit in 3Q21.
The DOSM said the receipts ascended 47.6% to RM6.4 billion compared to the preceding quarter following a higher inflow of remittances by Malaysians working abroad, while payments also increased to RM7.8 billion from RM7.4 billion in 3Q21.
Elaborating further on the balance of payment statistics, Mohd Uzir said the services account recorded a higher deficit of RM15.5 billion in 4Q21 from a deficit of RM15.2 billion in the previous quarter.
He said exports of services rose 10.1% to RM23.6 billion, while imports also increased 6.6% to RM39.1 billion due to a higher deficit in transport, telecommunication, computer and information, as well as a continuous deficit in travel.
Similarly, the primary income account recorded a higher deficit of RM19.7 billion, compared with RM11.3 billion in the previous quarter, mainly owing to higher income earned by foreign companies in Malaysia which amounted to RM53.8 billion, particularly in direct investment.
The DOSM said these companies were largely involved in financial services and the manufacturing sector, with the income mostly channelled to the US, Singapore and the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, Malaysian companies abroad also earned higher income of RM35.6 billion, compared with RM16.4 billion in the preceding quarter, especially in direct investment, with most of them located in the Netherlands, Singapore and Indonesia that principally engaged in financial activities and the agriculture sector.
“The financial account turned around to register a net outflow of RM2.2 billion in this quarter (4Q21) from a net inflow of RM22.8 billion in the previous quarter. This was mainly contributed by the net outflow in other investment of RM14 billion, which was reflected by higher interbank lending and placement of deposits by residents with financial institutions abroad,” Mohd Uzir explained.
Read more here: https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/malaysias-current-account-balance-surplus-reaches-rm152b
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