KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Industrial Production Index (IPI) grew by 5.8% in February over the same month last year.
According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), the growth was driven by an increase of indices in all sectors – electricity (6.8%), mining (6.1%) and manufacturing (5.6%).
In January, the IPI had grown by 0.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) due to an increase in the manufacturing index while the mining and electricity indices both shrank.
On a year-on-year basis, the manufacturing sector output rose by 5.6% in February after recording a growth of 2.2% in January.
“The major sub-sectors contributing to the increase in February were petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products (6.3%), non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products (6.2%) and electrical and electronics products (5.1%),” chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said.
The mining sector output also rose 6.1% y-o-y in February driven by an increase in the natural gas index (12%). However, crude oil and condensate index decreased by 0.5%.
Meanwhile, the electricity sector output rose 6.8% in February compared to the same month last year.
DOSM noted that the February data is provisional and will be updated based on the latest available figures.
Mohd Uzir also disclosed that Malaysia’s manufacturing sales grew by 7% y-o-y in February to register at RM110.6 bil from RM103.4 bil in February 2019.
He attributed the growth to the increase in petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products (9.4%), food, beverage and tobacco products (7.2%) and electrical and electrical products (5.5%).
“Total employees engaged in the manufacturing sector in February was 2.27 million, an increase of 1.6% y-o-y from 2.24 million previously,” he added.
Salaries and wages paid in February amounted to RM7.61 bil, up 4.4% y-o-y, while sales value per employee grew by 5.3% y-o-y to RM48,553, and the average salaries and wages per employee stood at RM3,340. – April 13, 2020, Bernama
