KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's manufacturing sales value expanded by 1.4 percent year on year to 158.4 billion ringgit (33.42 billion U.S. dollars) in March, official data showed Friday.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that the rise was primarily driven by the non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products (9.6 percent); wood, furniture, paper products and printing (3.4 percent); and electrical and electronics products (2.3 percent) sub-sectors.
On a month-on-month comparison, the sales value improved by 8.3 percent as compared to the negative 4.3 percent recorded in February.
The sales value of export-oriented industries which accounted for 70.4 percent of total sales, dropped marginally by 0.2 percent in March.
For the first quarter, the sales value of the manufacturing sector grew 1.8 percent, achieving 457.3 billion ringgit.
The growth was contributed by the non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products (8.3 percent); as well as transport equipment and other manufactures (8.2 percent); and electrical and electronics products (2.1 percent) sub-sectors. ■