• IPI surged 50.1% yoy in April

• Higher IPI growth lifted by double digit growth in all sub-sectors

• Production of the mining sector returned to positive growth in April

• Manufacturing sales increased 72.5% yoy; 2.9% mom in April

• Productivity increased 67.4% yoy in April

• Global semiconductor sales increase in April and global semiconductor sales forecast to hit USD527.2bn in 2021

• Stronger global industrial activities in April

• Production activities to be impacted by the imposition of MCO 3.0 and full lockdown

IPI surged 50.1% yoy in April

Malaysia’s industrial production index (IPI) surged by 50.1% yoy in April, after a 9.3% gain in March 2021. The expansion marked the fifth straight month of increase in industrial output, driven by solid output in all sub-indices. The growth in April 2021 was driven by the increase in the index of manufacturing (68.0%) and electricity (22.9%). Mining output posted a positive growth of 14.3%, the first time since February 2020.

On a monthly basis, the IPI in April declined by 4.5%. Based on the month-on-month comparison, the contraction in IPI for April was due to the decline in all sub-indices of mining (-5.7%), manufacturing (-4.3%) and electricity (-3.4%). In seasonally adjusted terms, IPI in April 2021 grew by 0.1%. The growth was due to the mining index (+1.9%). However, the electricity and manufacturing index contracted by 2.3% and 0.5%, respectively.

The IPI for the period of January to April 2021 recorded a growth of 12.4% compared to the same period of the previous year. This positive growth was steered by an increase of 17.3% in manufacturing and 4.9% in electricity. However, mining recorded a reduction of 0.2%.

Source: BIMB Securities Research - 14 Jun 2021