MALAYSIA’S industrial production index for last year rose by 3.1% as compared with 2017, said the Statistics Department today.

The department said in a statement today that the increase was supported by growth in the manufacturing (4.8%) and electricity (3.7%) sectors.

However, the mining sector declined by 1.9%.

Chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said that in December 2018, IPI increased by 3.4% compared with the same month of 2017, driven by an increase in the manufacturing index, which grew 4.4%, electricity index (2.7%), and mining index (1.0%).

He said the major manufacturing sub-sectors that contributed to the growth were electrical and electronic equipment products (7.2%), transport equipment and other manufacturers’ products (7.0%), and petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products (3.6%).

“The mining index rose 1.0% in December, contributed to by 2.5% growth in the crude oil index, but the natural gas index decreased marginally by 0.2%,” he added. – Bernama, February 11, 2019.