KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s economy grew 5.3 percent from a year earlier in the third quarter, slowing from the previous three-month period, official advance estimates showed on Friday.
In the second quarter, gross domestic product expanded 6 percent. During the July to September period, growth was recorded in all economic sectors except for mining and quarrying, which declined 4.9 percent from a year earlier, the statistics department said in a statement. Expansion in the quarter was driven by the services sector which rose 5.4 percent, while manufacturing activity grew 7.5 percent, backed by export-oriented industries, the department said. The construction sector rose 6 percent, supported in part by rising data centre development projects, it said. Malaysia, a regional data centre hub, has benefited from a global boom in artificial intelligence infrastructure that has driven demand for its tech products and semiconductors.
The government last week raised 2026 growth projections for the second time this year, with the economy expected to expand close to the upper end of a 4.8 percent to 5.3 percent forecast range.
It estimates annual economic growth of between 4.2 percent and 5.2 percent in 2027. The central bank has held its main policy rate steady since May last year, when it was cut to 2.75 percent amid global tariff uncertainties.
Final third-quarter GDP data will be released on November 18.