KL manufacturing sales surge

KL manufacturing sales surge

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian manufacturing sales in December rose 20.8 percent from the year-earlier period, official data showed on Wednesday, due to what economists called a "torrid pace of activity" in sales and output.

The country's manufacturing sales rose to 30.8 billion ringgit (US$8.1 billion) in December, up 6.6 percent from the month before, the Statistics Department said in a statement.

For 2003 as a whole, manufacturing sales rose 10.9 percent from 2002 to 341.1 billion ringgit, with total salaries and wages paid increasing 6.1 percent to 19.2 billion ringgit, the department said.

Azrul Azwar, economist with MIDF Sisma Holdings Bhd. said in December, the manufacturing sector staged a "torrid pace of activity," as both final sales and output grew at double digit pace.

"Forward looking, continued firming of order books may force manufacturers to shift out their products faster hence we can expect another year of growth for manufacturing sales into 2004 although at a slower pace of 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent," he said.

In December, the manufacturing sector had a total of 1.007 million employees, up 3.8 percent year-on-year and 0.4 percent higher month-on-month.

Total salaries and wages paid in December increased 5.9 percent year-on-year to 1.8 billion ringgit, and rose 12.5 percent from November, it added.--AFP