(Kuala Lumpur, July 7) The Statistics Department announced that the Industrial Production Index (IPI) grew 4.6% year-on-year in December last year, driven by expansion in all industries.

Datuk Mohd Uzir, chief statistician of the Statistics Department, said that the manufacturing industry (accounting for 68.3% of the index) expanded 5.8% year-on-year, performing better than the 4.6% in November.

Meanwhile, the mining industry recovered and grew 0.4%; while the power sector grew 3.5%.

On a monthly basis, the Industrial Production Index fell 0.4% in December.

Mining output recovered, manufacturing grew

The growth in manufacturing output came mainly from the 6.8% growth of export-oriented industries, driven by the double-digit growth of 10.1% in computers, electronic products and optical products; while domestic-oriented industries grew by 3.7%.

On a monthly basis, export-oriented industries fell by 2.4%, while domestic-oriented industries fell by 0.4%.

Uzir continued that the recovery in mining output was supported by the 5.5% growth in the natural gas index.

Mining rose by 4% month-on-month, while the power sector rose by 1.1%.

In terms of national performance, the industrial production index in South Korea, China and Taiwan showed growth, while the growth in the United States and Japan slowed down.

In contrast, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand fell.

The slowdown in the fourth quarter was 3.8% for the whole year

Overall, the industrial production index slowed down in the fourth quarter of last year, with an annual growth of 3.4% and a quarterly increase of 2%.

“The industrial production index grew by 3.8% last year, up from 0.7% in 2023. All sectors recorded growth, with the manufacturing sector increasing by 4.4%, the mining index increasing by 0.7%, and the power sector increasing by 5.6%.”