Malaysia exceeds market expectations with 4.0% IPI

From January till May 2019, Malaysia’s IPI grew 3.2% compared to the corresponding period last year. Meanwhile on 3 July 2019, S&P Global Ratings’ (Standard and Poor’s) affirmed Malaysia’s issuer credit rating at A- with a stable outlook.

In contrast, industrial production in other ASEAN economies experienced contraction. In the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, factory output fell 2.1%, 2.4% and 4.0% respectively in May 2019. Furthermore, the second quarter 2019 Singaporean GDP grew only 0.1% compared to last year, or shrank 3.4% quarter-on-quarter. HSBC economist Joseph Incalcaterra has been quoted stating that the latest quarterly figure in Singapore is a "harbinger of further growth deterioration across the region", as a result of the continuing trade war between United States and China.

However, the Finance Ministry believes that persistent industrial production expansion for Malaysia in the month of May, together with solid expansion in exports and domestic demand, point towards sustained GDP growth in the second quarter of 2019, with the World Bank forecasting Malaysia to enjoy a 4.6% GDP growth for the whole of 2019. Separate data from the Department of Statistics shows that the jobless rate fell to 3.3% in May from 3.4% in the preceding month. The number of unemployed persons fell to 519,800 persons in May, from 523,300 persons in the prior month.