Malaysia’s balance of payments records higher surplus

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s balance of payments recorded a higher surplus of RM33.5bil last year compared to 2017, contributed by better surplus in goods account and lower deficit in services account, the Statistics Department said.

Meanwhile, balance of payments recorded a higher surplus of RM10.8bil in the current account for the final quarter (Q4) of 2018 as compared to RM3.8bil in the previous quarter (Q3).

In a statement, it said the better performance in Q4 was attributed to the goods account at RM33bil from RM26.6bil in Q3.

Meanwhile, financial account recorded a net outflow of RM6.1bil (Q3 2018: net inflow RM2.3bil).

“Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) accelerated to RM12.9bil from RM4.3bil in the previous quarter,” said the department, adding that the FDI were mainly from Netherlands, Japan and Hong Kong.

Similarly, Malaysia's Direct Investment in Abroad (DIA) also registered a higher net outflow of RM10.8bil with the main destinations to Canada, Indonesia and Singapore.

“In 2018, FDI in Malaysia recorded RM32.6bil while DIA was RM21.3bil,” it said.

Portfolio investment turned around to net outflow of RM5.8bil from net inflow of RM0.8bil in Q3.

The portfolio investment assets showed a reversal to net outflow of RM3.3bil, while liabilities recorded a lower net outflow of RM2.5bil.