GEORGE TOWN: The electrical and electronics (E&E) industry grew by 20.6% in the first two months of this year, says International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

He said Malaysia achieved significant progress in the E&E industry over the last decade that had resulted in the growth of new businesses and creation of jobs.

Malaysia was the world's seventh largest exporter of E&E products, valued at RM287.7 billion last year, and made up 36% of Malaysia's total exports.

"Well, last year's performance was certainly better. Last year's total trade in E&E only grew by 1.5%. Overall, our forecast is somewhere around 5% growth for this year.

"But, the performance in the first two months has been excellent. The E&E industry has done well," he told a press conference after opening the three-day SEMICON Southeast Asia 2017 exhibition in George Town on Tuesday.

Mustapa said the industry has shown an upward trend in exports for the past three years and it was the only industry that recorded trade surplus for three consecutive years.

He said the machinery and equipment (M&E) industry also grew robustly over the years with a strong export performance that contributed to more than 5% of total exports of manufactured goods in 2016.

"In 2016 the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) approved 88 M&E projects with investments of RM1.54 billion," he said.

SEMICON Southeast Asia, organised by Mida in collaboration with the Semiconductor Equipment and Material International, is expected to attract more than 7,500 visitors to view latest technologies showcased by 250 companies from 13 countries. - Bernama