KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s current account balance (CAB) continued to record a surplus of RM15.2 billion in the final quarter of 2021, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) said.

       Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the current account surplus in the fourth quarter of 2021 was driven by the exceptionally high net exports of goods with the double-digit growth in prices of commodities.

       The goods account registered net exports of RM51.8 billion, the highest since the third quarter of 2008 at RM50.9 billion.

       Exports of goods with a contribution of 92.0 per cent to overall Malaysia’s exports grew at a faster rate to log RM271.3 billion from RM236.6 billion in the previous quarter.

       "The increment of 14.7 per cent was a result of the higher exports of electrical and electronics (E&E), palm oil and chemicals based products; predominantly to China, Singapore and the United States (US),” Mohd Uzir said in a statement today.

       Concurrently, imports of goods went up 12.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter to record RM219.5 billion. In this quarter, intermediate, capital and consumption goods were imported mainly from China, Singapore and Taiwan, he added.

       Besides goods account, the current account surplus in the fourth quarter of 2021 was also backed by the lower deficit in secondary income account at RM1.4 billion from RM3.1 billion deficit last quarter.

       The DOSM said the receipts ascended 47.6 per cent to RM6.4 billion compared with the preceding quarter following higher inflow of remittances by Malaysians working abroad while payments also increased to RM7.8 billion from RM7.4 billion in the third quarter of 2021.

       Elaborating further on the balance of payments statistics, Mohd Uzir Mahidin said services account recorded a higher deficit of RM15.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021 from a deficit of RM15.2 billion last quarter.

       He said exports of services rose 10.1 per cent to RM23.6 billion, while Imports also increased 6.6 per cent to RM39.1 billion due to higher deficit in transport, telecommunication, computer and information, as well as continuous deficit in travel.

       Similarly, the primary income account recorded a higher deficit of RM19.7 billion compared with RM11.3 billion in the previous quarter, mainly owing to higher income earned by foreign companies in Malaysia which amounted to RM53.8 billion, particularly in direct investment.

       The DOSM said these companies were largely involved in financial services and the manufacturing sector, with the income mostly channelled to the US, Singapore and the Netherlands.

       Meanwhile, Malaysian companies abroad also earned higher income of RM35.6 billion compared with RM16.4 billion in the preceding quarter, especially in direct Investment, with most of them located in the Netherlands, Singapore and Indonesia that principally engaged in financial activities and the agriculture sector.

       "Financial account turned around to register a net outflow of RM2.2 billion in this quarter from a net inflow of RM22.8 billion in the previous quarter. This was mainly contributed by net outflow in other investment of RM14.0 billion, which was reflected by higher interbank lending and placement of deposits by residents with financial institutions abroad,” Mohd Uzir said. - Bernama