Malaysia economy grows 4.7 percent in third quarter

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital. (Source: Internet)

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia’s economy grew at 4.7 percent in the third quarter, mainly fueled by the private sector, services and manufacturing industries, according to Malaysia’s central bank (BNM).

At a news conference in Kuala Lumpur on November 13, the BNM governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said the GDP growth in third quarter was reasonable and within analysts’ forecast.

The private sector continues being the key growth driver with a 5.5 percent increase in investment against the last quarter’s 3.9 percent. The industrial sector posted a 4.8 percent growth, agriculture 2.4 percent and construction 9.9 percent.

The service sector saw a growth of 4.4 percent, lower than the 5.0 percent recorded in the second quarter while mining slowed to 5.3 percent from 6.0 percent in the previous quarter.

Zeti said inflation in the third quarter was 3 percent, up from 2.2 percent in the second quarter, mainly caused by increases in fuel and food prices.

As of October 30, the foreign currency reserve reached 94 billion USD, equivalent to 8.7 months of imports.

Combining all three quarters, Malaysia’s economy has grown 5.1 percent, with the rates for the first and second quarters being 5.6 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively.

The country’s economy is forecast to expand between 4.5 and 5.5 percent in 2015 and from 4.0 to 5.0 percent in 2016.-VNA