{"id":812574,"date":"2026-10-24T16:24:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T16:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/812574\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T16:24:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T16:24:31","slug":"southeast-asias-third-richest-country-posts-record-384b-exports-in-9-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/812574\/","title":{"rendered":"Southeast Asia’s third-richest country posts record $384B exports in 9 months"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imports rose 25.7% to RM1.34 trillion during the period, bringing total trade to RM2.91 trillion, up 30.1%, according to the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE).<\/p>\n

The country, the third-richest in Southeast Asia by nominal GDP per capita behind Singapore and Brunei, posted a trade surplus of RM232.38 billion for the nine months.<\/p>\n

Electrical and electronic (E&E) products remained a key driver of export growth, with their export value increasing by RM253.88 billion, reflecting rising global demand linked to artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technology adoption.<\/p>\n

Other major contributors included petroleum products, optical and scientific equipment, machinery, equipment and parts, and liquefied natural gas.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A cargo ship is docked at Malaysia’s North Klang port in Port Klang, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur on April 6, 2026. Photo by AFP<\/p>\n

Palm oil-based downstream products, particularly oleochemicals, also maintained double-digit growth. Products involving substantial participation by Malaysian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including automotive parts, pharmaceuticals, metal furniture and aerospace products, recorded positive growth.<\/p>\n

MATRADE Director-General Indera Abu Bakar Yusof said the results demonstrated the resilience of Malaysian exporters and SMEs amid global economic uncertainty.<\/p>\n

Proactive efforts to help domestic businesses access emerging markets with strong growth potential had helped turn barriers and risks into practical business opportunities, he added.<\/p>\n

Exports<\/a> to non-traditional markets in Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and Latin America rose 21.5% to RM136.36 billion during the period. Among the markets recording strong growth were Namibia, up 426.1%; South Africa, 101%; Libya, 79.3%; Angola, 55.6%; and Brazil, 41%.<\/p>\n

Free trade agreement (FTA) partners remained a major export destination, accounting for RM986.38 billion or 62.8% of Malaysia\u2019s total exports, up 25.8%.<\/p>\n

Exports to 21 of Malaysia\u2019s 24 FTA partners grew, led by Mexico with a 52.1% increase, followed by Vietnam at 44.9%, the United Kingdom at 41.1% and Thailand at 32.3%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Imports rose 25.7% to RM1.34 trillion during the period, bringing total trade to RM2.91 trillion, up 30.1%, according…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":812575,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,1294,17271,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-812574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-southeast-asia","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}